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Pages  detached/ 
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I — I  Pagea  diacoloured,  atained  or  foxed/ 

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to  tha  ganarotity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
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beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  or  tha  bav;k  covar  whan  appropriate.  All 
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first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  impression. 


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shall  contain  the  symbol  >-^-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

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different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  filmtf*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
g*n*roaiti  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Las  images  suivantas  ont  AtA  raproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nattet*  da  l'exemplaira  filmA.  at  en 
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d'impression  ou  d'illustration  at  en  terminant  par 
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cas:  le  symbols  — *-  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

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filmAs  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
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reproduit  en  un  seul  clich«.  il  est  film*  A  partir 
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illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

THE 


Story  of  Marcus  Whitman 


Early  Protestant  Missions 
IN  THE  Northwest 


BV   THB 


REV.  J.  G.  CRAIGHEAD,  D.D. 


Presbyterian  Boaru  of  Publication  and 
Sabbath-school  Work,  Philadelphia.  1895 


m^immmm^^mm^m 


^PPJ^PP^ 


T)CQj 


COPYKIGHT,    189s,    BY 
THE  TRl'S  lEES   OF   THE   PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD 
OF  PUBLICATION  AND  SABBATH- 
SCHOOL  WORK, 


PREFACE. 


THE  incentive  to  this  volume  was  the  wish  to  vindicate 
the  characters  and  the  work  of  the  early  Protestant 
missionaries  in  Oregon  from  aspersions  which  have  been 
cast  upon  them  j  to  show  the  importance  of  their  labors  in 
the  development  and  settlement  of  the  country ;  and  to 
prove  that  it  was  through  their  public-spirited  and  patri- 
otic services  that  a  large  part  of  the  Northwest  territory 
was  secured  to  the  United  States. 

The  settlement  of  Oregon  by  any  organized  system 
began  in  the  year  1834,  when  Christians  in  the  Eastern 
States  were  induced,  by  the  earnest  desire  of  the  Indians  of 
the  far  West  for  the  Bible  and  religious  instruction,  to  take 
active  measures  to  provide  them  with  religious  teachers. 
As  soon  as  practicable,  missionaries  were  sent  and  mission 
stations  established  among  them.  The  influence  and  ex- 
ample of  the  missionaries  not  only  promoted  a  Christian 
civilization  among  the  Indians,  but  also  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  orderly  and  law-abiding  communities  wherever 
they  labored.  Their  coming  opened  the  way  for  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  the  country ;  and  their  stations  formed  a 
rallying  point  for  American  immigrants  who  were  yearly 
attracted  in  large  numbers  from  our  Western  States,  and 
who  afterward  obtained  ascendency  in  the  new  State. 

Nor  is  it  beyond  the  facts  in  the  case  to  say,  as  did 

(Ui) 

^YgggPacifir  N.W.  History  Dept 

PROVINCIAL-  LIBRARY 
VICTORIA,  a  c. 


iv 


Preface. 


Judge  Boise  in  his  address  before  ihe  Pioneer  Association 
of  Oregon,  that  "history  will  record  that  these  holy  men 
were  the  nucleus  around  which  has  been  formed  and  built 
the  State  of  Oregon."  They  were  **men  who  knew  how 
to  plant  in  the  virgin  soil  the  seeds  of  virtue  and  knowl- 
edge, and  cultivate  them  as  they  germinated  and  grew  into 
churches,  schools  and  colleges." 

Though  the  results  of  Protestant  missions  among  the 
Indians  in  Oregon,  owing  to  the  peculiarly  hostile  condi- 
tions they  had  to  encounter,  were  not  all  that  the  friends 
of  the  cause  had  at  first  expected,  yet  the  presence  and 
labors  of  the  missionaries  at  this  time  we.e  all  important, 
and  their  effects  are  still  felt  in  the  religion,  civilization 
and  education  which  they  introduced  and  zealously  fos- 
tered. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  volume  I  have,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, availed  myself  of  all  known  authorities  contempora- 
neous with  the  facts  discussed.  Owing  to  the  protracted 
controversy  which  has  been  waged  respecting  some  of  the 
events  narrated,  a  more  exhaustive  examination  was  re- 
quired than  would  otherwise  have  been  necessary.  In 
every  such  instance  I  have  striven  to  be  honest  and  impar- 
tial in  the  testimony  adduced. 

The  author  will  feel  amply  repaid,  if  his  search  for  the 
truth  of  history  shall  lead  to  a  more  general  appreciation  of 
the  characters  and  services  of  the  first  Protestant  mission- 
aries of  the  far  West. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


PAGE. 


Spain,  France,  Russia,  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  claim 
title — First  three  withdraw — United  States  claim  the  country 
by  right  of  discovery  and  cession — Long  controversy  with 
Great  Britain— Finally  settled  in  1872 9 

CHAPTER  II. 

Lewis  and  Clark's  exploration  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the 
Columbia,  in  1805-6 — Valuable  knowledge  obtained — Gov- 
ernment promotes  the  settlement  of  t'ne  territory 16 

CHAPTER  III. 

Missouri  and  Pacific  Fur  Companies — Expeditions  by  sea  and 
land — Astoria  and  other  posts  occupied — Loss  of  ship  Ton- 
quin — Pacific  Fur  Company  prosperous — War  with  Great 
Britain — Fear  of  capture  of  fort,  fur  and  supplies — Sale  to 
North  West  Company  by  Mr.  Astor's  agents— Inglorious 
ending  of  his  company — Treachery  charged 21 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  North  West  Company — Its  origin,  explorations  and  repressive 
jxjlicy — The  Hudson  Bay  Company,  its  charter  rights  and  its 
power — Bloody  conflicts  with  the  North  West  Company — The 
two  united  with  increased  power — Destruction  of  all  rival 
traders — Indians    kept    in    barbarism — Opposition     to    all 

civilized  settlement  of  the  country 31 

(V) 


vi 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  V. 


PAGB, 


Indians  seeking  the  Bible — Response  of  churches — Methodist 
missionaries — Mission  of  the  American  Board — Journey  to  the 
Columbia  river — Kind  reception — Stations  selected — Rein- 
forcements— Success  among   Indians — ^Jesuit  missionaries 

Conflicting  interests 41 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  missions  prosperous — Hudson  Bay  Company's  policy  to 
occupy  the  country — Americans  resist  it — Dr.  Whitman  visits 
Washington  to  save  Oregon — His  perilous  winter  ride— Ar- 
rival at  Washington — Interviews  with  President  Tyler  and 
leading  statesmen — He  renders  important  service — Unwise 
claims  of  his  friends c8 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Dr.  Whitman's  visit  to  Boston — Return  to  Oregon  with  nearly  one 

thousand   immigrants — Services   as   guide  and  physician 

Oregon  saved  to  the  United  States  by  this  large  immigration 
— American  and  Hudson  Bay  policies  conflict— Hostility 
shown  to  Americans  and  Protestant  missionaries — Acts  and 
motives  misrepresented— Sickness  among  Indians — Massacre 
of  Dr.  Whitman  and  others , 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Prolonged    paper    discussion    over  the    massacre Agent    Ross 

Browne's  report— A  valuable  Senate  document— Roman 
Catholic  writers  assail  and  deny  its  statements — Try  to  vindi- 
cate the  conduct,  of  their  priests— In  so  doing,  make  serious 
charges  against  Protestant  missionaries— Defense  of  the  latter 
—Their  good  character  and  usefulness  shown 86 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Wisdom  and  hon'»sty  of  Protestant  missionaries  impugned—Their 
alleged  promises  to  pay  Indians  for  land— Scandals  proven 


74 


Contents. 


vu 


PAGB. 

false Their  work  depreciated  on  the  ground  that  the  Indians 

were    not   improved — Vindicated    by   the   facts — Important 
results  of  Protestant  missions 102 

CHAPTER  X. 

Catholic  missionaries— Methods  of  the  priests— Wholesale  bap- 
tisms  Indians  not  permanently  benefited — Proofs  of  failure 

—Their  missions  reinforced — Complaints  of  Dr.  Whitman — 
His  great  genero!  ity — Event?  prior  to  the  massacre— Indians 
influenced  by  priests  and  others — Destruction  of  Protestant 
mission  the  result 120 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  controversy  over  the  massacre  continued — Defense  made  by 
accused  parties— Indians  hostile  to  Dr.  Whitman  had  resolved 
to  kill  him — Reasons  assigned — Charges  of  taking  their  lands 
and  poisoning  them— Deaths  by  disease— Accounts  of  the 
massacre  by  priests  and  Hudson  Bay  Company— Causes  stated 
inadequate— Some  of  the  statements  false— Approximate 
causes ^35 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  murderers  Cayuse  Indians — Roman  Catholic  half  breeds  and 
Hudson  Bay  employes  the  instigators — Object  to  break  up  the 
Protestant  missions — Catholic^  and  Hudson  Bay  people  un- 
harmed  Active  agency  of  half-breeds — Indirect  influence  of 

priests  over    Indians— They    and    Hudson    Bay  Company 
blamed — Conclusions  from  the  evidence 152 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Survivors  at  Waiilatpu — Proper  sympathy  and  aid  not  extended  to 
them — Hudson  Bay  Company  blamed  for  not  preventing  the 
massacre — Its  agents  charged  with  cruelty  to  Messrs.  Hall 
and  Osborne — Miss  Bev/ley's  sufferings — Her  deposition — 
Lack  of  protection  at  the  priests'  camp 169 


Vlll 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


PAGB. 


Dr.  Whitman's  journey  East  in  1842-43 — Its  purpose — Visit  to 
Washington  and  influence  there  both  (jueslioned — Confirmed 
by  his  letters,  ami  by  a  Congressional  bill — His  patriotic  and 
valuable  services — Evidence  that  he  more  than  any  other 
person,  saved  Oregon  to  the  United  States , , ,    183 


APPENDIX. 

Letter  from  Dr.  Whitman  to  James  M.  Porter,  Secretary  of  War 
Whitman's  Ride 


197 
205 


THE  STORY  OF  MARCUS  WHITMAN. 


CHAPTER   I. 


OREGON. — THE   CONTEST   FOR   iOSRESSION. 


ORIGINALLY,  the  territory  of  Oregon  comprised  all 
tiie  country  lying  between  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Rus- 
sian possessions,  latitude  54°  40',  and  on  the  south  by  the 
northern  border  of  California,  latitude  42°.  _  It  extended 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  north  to  south,  and 
about  five  hundred  miles  from  east  to  west,  being  nearly 
four  times  the  size  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  combined. 
This  huge  territory  was  claimed,  wholly  or  in  part,  by  five 
powers — Spain,  France,  Russia,  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States. 

By  the  law  of  nations,  the  title  to  any  country  depends 
upon  the  first  discovery  and  occupancy  of  it,  or  upon  pur- 
chase or  cession  by  treaty  from  the  first  discoverer  or 
occupant.  "  When  a  nation  takes  possession  of  a  country 
to  which  no  prior  owner  can  lay  claim,"  says  Vattel,  "it 
is  considered  as  acquiring  the  empire  or  sovereignty  of  it. 
When  a  nation  finds  a  country  uninhabited  and  without 
an  owner,  it  may  lawfully  take  possession  of  it ;  and  after 


^■ir 


lO 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


it.  has  sufficiently  made  known  its  will  in  this  respect,  it 
cannot  be  deprived  of  it  by  any  other  nation." 

It  is  almost  universally  conceded  that  Spanish  navi- 
gators were  the  first  discoverers  and  first  explorers  of  the 
northwest  coast  of  America.  After  their  conquests  in 
Mexico  they  explored  the  adjacent  seas  and  countries,  and 
in  1543  discovered  California.  Nine  years  afterward  they 
extended  their  exploration  of  the  coast  to  Cape  Blanco, 
43°  north  latitude;  in  1^82  to  57°  40',  and  in  1588  to 
Bering  Strait.  In  1592  Juan  de  Fuca  discovered  and  en- 
tered the  straits  which  bear  his  name,  but  for  nearly  two 
centuries  thereafter  the  Spanish  career  of  discovery  was 
substantially  at  a  standstill.  In  1774-75  the  Viceroy  of 
Mexico  fitted  out  two  expeditions  which  surveyed  the 
coast  from  Monterey  up  to  latitude  54°,  discovering 
Nootka  Sound,  the  Island  of  Vancouver  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  River.  Spanish  vessels  from  Mexico  in 
1792  also  surveyed  many  of  the  bays  and  channels  which 
lie  between  the  5 2d  and  56th  parallels. 

The  rights  of  Spain,  founded  on  discovery,  were  recog- 
nized, after  a  vigorous  dispute,  in  the  Nootka  Convention 
of  1790,  in  which  she  yielded  the  right  to  navigate,  trade 
and  fish  on  the  northwest  coast,  but  reserved  her  sover- 
eignty over  the  entire  territory  described  in  the  opening 
paragraph  of  this  chapter.  This  treaty  was  reaffirmed  in 
1814,  when  Great  Britain  assented  anew  to  Spain's  terri- 
torial claims.  The  rights  of  Spain  were  transferred  in 
turn  to  the  United  States  by  the  Florida  treaty  of  18 19, 
wherein  *'  His  Catholic  Majesty  cedes  all  his  rights, 
claims  and  pretensions  to  any  territories  north  of  the 
42d  parallel  of  latitude."     The  boundary  line  thus  de- 


The  Contest  for  Possession. 


XI 


fined  was  confirmed  in  1828  by  Mexico,  which  had  ob 
tained  its  independence.  Meanwhile,  France  having 
acquired  possession  of  Louisiana  by  cession  from  Spain 
in  1800,  the  United  States,  in  1803,  purchased  "all  its 
rights  and  appurtenances,  as  fully  and  in  the  same  manner 
as  it  had  been  acquired  from  Spain;"  and  the  northern 
boundary  of  Louisiana  had  been  declared  in  1763,  by  the 
treaty  of  Versailles  between  Great  Britain  and  France, 
"to  be  a  line  drawn  due  west  from  the  source  of  the 
Mississippi,  assigning  to  England  the  territory  north  of 
the  49th  parallel  of  latitude  and  east  of  the  Mississippi." 

Russia  having  asserted  her  right  to  all  the  northwest 
coast  and  the  islands  north  of  latitude  51°,  and  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  having  protested,  a  pro- 
tracted correspondence  had  taken  place,  ending  in  an 
agreement,  in  1824,  that  Russia  should  make  no  claim 
south  of  54°  40',  or  the  United  States  north  of  the  same 
line.  This  left  but  two  contestants  for  possession  of  Ore- 
gon— Great  Britain  and  the  United  Stat-^-s. 

The  claims  of  the  United  States  did  not  rest  solely  on 
the  rights  transferred  to  them  by  treaty  from  other  powers ; 
they  claimed  sovereignty  by  right  of  discovery  as  well. 
In  1787  Captains  Gray  and  Kendrick  sailed  from  Boston 
for  the  northwest  coast,  and  in  September  of  the  follow- 
ing year  reached  Nootka,  where  they  passed  the  winter. 
In  1 79 1  Captain  Gray  surveyed  the  Straits  of  Fuca, 
whence  he  sailed  to  Canton  and  thence  to  the  United 
States.  He  made  a  second  voyage  to  the  Pacific,  and 
on  the  nth  of  May,  1792,  discovered  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River,  which  he  ascended  twenty  miles,  trading 
with   the  natives  and   examining   the  country.     In  the 


S8 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


meantime  Captain  Kendrick,  who  had  remained  on  the 
coast,  purchased  from  the  native  chiefs  several  large  tracts 
of  land  near  Nootka  Sound,  for  the  use  of  the  commercial 
company  he  represented.  From  1791  onward  the  north- 
west coast  was  visited  yearly  by  many  vessels  from  the 
United  States  engaged  in  trading  enterprises,  each  expe- 
dition making  new  discoveries  or  adding  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  territory  already  discovered;  and  from  1766  to 
about  1 81 5  the  direct  trade  between  the  northwest  coast 
and  Canton  was  carried  on  exclusively  by  American  ves- 
sels sailing  under  our  own  flag. 

Great  Britain  claimed  priority  of  discovery  of  the 
Columbia  River  by  Lieutenant  Mears  in  1788  and  by 
Vancouver  in  1792.  But  Mears'  vessel  was  fitted  out 
at  Macoa,  a  Portuguese  port,  bore  sailing  papers  written 
in  the  Portuguese  language  and  sailed  under  the  Portu- 
guese flag;  and  both  his  journal  and  Vancouver's  show 
that  they  not  only  did  not  discover  the  Columbia,  but 
that  they  actually  affirmed  the  impossibility  of  its  exist- 
ence from  the  nature  of  the  coast,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
Captain  Gray  had  informed  Vancouver  of  his  discovery 
when  they  met,  the  April  before,  in  the  Straits  of  Fuca. 
This  seems  to  dispose  of  Great  Britain's  claims  based  on 
prior  discovery  of  the  Columbia  River. 

By  way  of  perfecting  their  rights  the  United  States  be- 
gan, within  a  reasonable  time,  as  required  by  the  law  of 
nations,  to  examine  the  territory  with  a  view  to  forming 
settlements.  President  Jefferson,  with  the  approval  of 
Congress,  commissioned    Captains  Lewis  and  Clark*  in 

■*  In  the  Report  of  the  expedition  it  is  printed  Clarke.    Captain  Clark 
wrote  his  name  without  the  final  vowel,  as  may  be  seen  from  his  official 


^ 


■OMRMPWiiHMMMBpHnMMi 


The  Contest  for  Possession. 


13 


1804,  and  instructed  them  to  proceed  to  Oregon  and  ex- 
plore the  Columbia  River  from  its  source  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  This  they  did,  taking  possession  of  the  country 
as  a  part  of  the  United  States  and  making  an  encampment 
which  they  named  Fort  Clatsop,  where  they  passed  the 
winter  of  1805-6. 

In  1808  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  established  a  trading 
post  on  the  head  waters  of  Lewis  River,  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal branches  of  the  Columbia;  and  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company,  with  John  Jacob  Astor  at  its  head,  sent  out  the 
ship  Tonquin  in  18 10,  with  the  necessary  persons  and 
material  to  establish  posts  for  carrying  on  an  active  trade 
with  the  natives,  in  furs  and  other  commodities.  Arriving 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  in  March,  181 1,  the  party 
selected  a  site  for  the  principal  factory,  eight  miles  from 
the  ocean,  and  named  it  Astoria.  These  were  the  first 
permanent  settlements  made  in  the  territory  of  Oregon 
and  the  first  steps  taken  to  hold  and  civilize  the  country. 
They  constitute  the  third  claim,  and  a  very  strong  one,  in 
behalf  of  the  United  States. 

Nevertheless,  Great  Britain  continued  her  contest. 
Many  vain  attempts  to  reconcile  the  conflicting  interests 
of  the  two  countries  by  negotiation  served  to  increase 
rather  than  allay  existing  jealousies  and  animosities,  and 
war  at  one  time  appeared  almost  unavoidable.  The  peace 
policy,  however,  finally  prevailed,  and  the  right  of  owner- 
ship was  settled  in  June,  1846,  by  a  treaty  concluded  in 
the  city  of  Washington.     By  its  terms  the  boundary  line 


correspondence  with  the  Oovemment  while  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Affkira  in  the  Northwest.  Hereafter  his  name  will  appear  as  he  spelled 
it  in  this  book. 


14 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


between  the  territorial  possessions  of  the  two  countries 
was  to  begin  at  "  the  point  on  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of 
north  latitude,  where  the  boundary  laid  down  in  existing 
treaties  and  conventions*,  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  terminates,  and  shall  continue  westward 
along  the  said  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude  to  the 
middle  of  the  channel  which  separates  the  continent  from 
Vncouver's  Island,  and  thence  southerly  through  the 
middle  of  the  said  channel  and  of  Fuca's  Straits  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean."  There  were  two  conditions  connected 
with  this :  First,  that  the  navigation  of  said  channel  and 
straits  south  of  the  lorty-ninth  parallel  was  to  be  open  and 
free  to  both  parties;  and,  second,  that  all  possessory 
rights  acquired  by  British  subjects  were  to  be  respected. 

One  indefinite  element  in  the  treaty  of  1846  afterward 
caused  great  trouble.  As  it  was  impossible  accurately  to 
define  the  water  part  of  the  boundary  line,  this  was  left  to 
be  subsequently  settled  by  a  Commission.  This  Commis- 
sion never  reached  any  satisfactory  conclusion,  owing  to 
the  diverse  interpretations  given  to  the  first  article  of  the 
treaty.  Nor  were  later  efforts  for  the  settlement  of  this 
vexed  question  by  the  statesmen  of  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  more  successful.  Great  Britain  insisted 
that  by  '*  the  middle  of  the  channel  "  was  meant  the  waters 
of  the  Straits  of  Rosario ;  while  the  United  States  asserted 
just  as  positively  that  it  meant  the  Canal  de  Haro,  the 
most  direct  and  best  route  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Great 
Britain  claimed  that  the  boundary  line  should  run  east  of 

*  The  aUusion  to  existing  conventions  and  treaties  refers  to  those  of 
i8i8and  1827,  and  especiaUy  to  the  Ashburton  treaty  in  1842,  by  which  the 
boundary  line  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  established,  from  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  to  the  Lake  of  the  W^oods. 


mmmum 


PR**!" 


TAe  Contest  for  Possession. 


15 


the  Island  of  San  Juan  ;  the  United  States,  that  it  should 
run  west  of  the  island,  and  between  it  and  Vancouver's 
Island,  thus  leaving  San  Juan  in  possession  of  the  United 
States. 

Thus  the  controversy  continued  between  the  two  coun- 
tries until  the  treaty  of  Washington,  in  May,  1871,  pro- 
vided for  submitting  the  question  at  issue  **  to  the  arbitra- 
tion and  award  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Germany," 
whose  decision  should  be  final  and  without  appeal,  both 
parties  agreeing  to  give  effect  to  it  **  without  any  objection, 
evasion,  or  delay  whatsoever."  The  case  of  the  United 
States  was  submitted  in  December,  1871,  by  Hon.  George 
Bancroft,  our  Minister  at  Berlin ;  and  the  case  of  Great 
Britain  by  Admiral  Prevost.  The  award  was  made  in 
October,  1872,  the  Emperor  decreeing  "that  the  claim  of 
the  United  States  of  America  is  most  in  accordance  with 
the  true  interpretation  of  the  treaty  of  1846."  The 
promptness  and  good  faith  with  which  the  Britisii  Govern- 
ment gave  effect  to  this  decision  brought  to  a  friendly  close 
the  last  of  a  series  of  boundary  controversies  which  had 
been  waged  between  two  of  the  most  important  nations  of 
the  world  for  not  less  than  ninety  years. 


CHAPTER  II. 


EXPLORATION   BY  ORDER   OF   CONGRESS. 


IN  1803,  the  same  year  in  which  Louisiana  was  purchased 
from  France,  and  before  the  transfer  of  the  territory 
was  completed,  President  Jefferson  addressed  a  confiden- 
tial message  to  Congress  recommending  that  measures 
be  taken  without  delay  for  the  examination  of  the  country 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Congress  approving, 
Captains  Merriweather  Lewis  and  William  Clark  were 
commissioned  to  have  charge  of  the  expedition.  They 
were  instructed  to  explore  the  Missouri  River  to  its  source, 
and  then  to  seek  for  some  stream  running  to  the  Pacific, 
**  whether  the  Columbia,  the  Oregon,  the  Colorado,  or  any 
other  which  might  offer  the  most  direct  and  practicable 
water  communication  across  the  continent,  for  the  purposes 
of  commerce ;  and  to  trace  the  same  to  its  termination  in 
the  Pacific." 

The  party  under  command  of  Captain  Lewis,  consisting 
of  thirty  men,  set  out  for  the  West,  expecting  to  advance 
some  distance  up  the  Missouri  River  before  ice  should  pre- 
vent further  progress.  They  were  not  permitted,  however, 
to  pass  beyond  the  Mississippi,  the  Spanish  commander  of 
this  territory  not  having  been  informed  of  its  transfer  to 
the  United  States.  Consequently  it  was  not  until  May, 
1804,  that  they  began  the  ascent  of  the  Missouri.     The 

16 


Exploration  by  Order  of  Congress. 


17 


current  was  so  strong  that  their  three  boats  made  but 
slow  progress,  and  October  had  passed  before  they  ar- 
rived in  the  country  of  the  Mandan  Indians,  some  1600 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  they  went  into 
camp. 

Resuming  their  voyage  up  the  Missouri  on  the  7th  of 
April,  1805,  in  three  weeks  they  reached  the  junction  of 
the  Yellowstone.  Soon  afterward  their  progress  was  arrested 
by  what  was  then  known  as  the  Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri, 
and  nearly  a  month  was  consumed  in  transporting  the  canoes 
and  their  cargoes  to  a  point  above  the  falls,  and  in  con- 
structing additional  boats  out  of  the  large  trees  that  grew 
on  the  river  banks.  In  July  they  went  on,  and  passed 
through  the  gates  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  a  narrow 
channel  si^  miles  long,  where  the  river  breaks  through  the 
mountains.  Above  here  a  large  number  of  streams  flow 
into  the  Missouri  \  the  largest  of  these,  which  they  named 
the  Jefferson,  they  explored  to  its  source  near  the  forty- 
fourth  degree  of  latitude,  about  3000  miles  from  where 
they  began  the  ascent  of  the  Missouri.  Abandoning  their 
canoes,  and  storing  a  portion  of  their  goods  at  the  head  of 
the  Jefferson  River,  the  party  provided  themselves  with 
horses  and  guides  from  the  Shoshone  Indians,  and  on  the 
30th  of  August  began  their  journey  through  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

This  was  by  far  the  most  difficult  part  of  their  route. 
They  underwent,  says  Capt.  Clark,  "  every  suffering  which 
hunger,  cold  and  fatigue  could  impose,"  Food  was  insuf- 
fi  ,ient,  and  difficult  to  procure,  consisting  of  berries,  dried 
fish,  and  the  meat  of  dogs  and  horses;  the  mountains  were 
high,  and  the  passes  were  rough  and  frequently  covered 


i8 


7^g  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


with  snow.  They  crossed  many  streams  flowing  westward  ; 
finally,  on  the  7th  of  October,  they  embarked  on  one  of 
*he  largest  of  these,  in  five  canoes  which  they  had  con- 
structed, and  descended  it  till  they  reached  a  river,  which 
they  named  the  Lewis,  and  which  proved  to  be  the  prin- 
cipal southern  tributary  of  the  Columbia.  Continuing 
their  voyage  on  the  Lewis  for  seven  days  more,  they  came 
to  its  confluence  with  the  larger  northern  branch,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  Clark.  Passing  down  the  Columbia, 
whose  waters  they  had  now  reached,  they  arrived  at  the 
great  falls  on  the  2 2d  of  October,  and  on  the  30th,  at  the 
lower  falls,  a  short  distance  below  which  they  saw  the  tides 
of  the  Pacific.  On  the  1 7th  of  November  the  horizon  line 
of  the  ocean  was  visible,  and  all  realized  that  the  explora- 
tion was  complete,  and  that  a  new  way  had  been  discovered  • 
through  the  trackless  wilderness  between  the  Eastern  States 
and  the  Northwest  coast. 

A  landing  was  made  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  but 
the  party  afterwards  crossed  to  the  south  side,  where  they 
formed  an  encampment,  giving  it  the  name  of  Fort  Clatsop. 
Here  the  winter  of  1805-6  was  passed  ;  but  the  rains  were 
so  frequent,  long  continued  and  violent  that  comparatively 
little  could  be  done  in  the  way  of  surveys  or  explorations 
of  the  river  and  adjacent  country. 

The  explorers  began  their  return  voyage  to  the  United 
States  on  the  23d  of  March,  1806.  Before  leaving,  they 
prepared  an  account  of  their  outward  journey,  which  was 
written  on  parchment  and  posted  in  the  fort,  copies  being 
given  also  to  the  natives  for  the  benefit  of  any  who  might 
come  after.  It  stated  that  the  expedition  had  been  sent 
out  by  the  United  States  Government,  and  had  reached 


irsN 


Exploration  by  Order  of  Congress. 


«9 


the  Pacific  Ocean  through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  by 
way  of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  Rivers. 

Ascending  the  Columbia  in  canoes,  the  party  reached 
the  falls,  about  125  miles  from  the  Pacific,  by  the  middle 
of  April.  On  their  way  up  they  discovered  a  large  stream 
flowing  into  the  Columbia  from  the  north,  called  the  Cow- 
litz by  the  natives,  and  another,  the  Willamette,  thirty 
miles  away,  joining  the  Columbia  on  the  south.  From  the 
falls  the  exploring  party  proceeded  by  land  to  the  Rocky- 
Mountains,  and  through  them  to  the  Clark  River,  where  it 
was  agreed  that  the  chiefs  of  the  expedition  should  separate, 
to  meet  again  at  the  junction  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Mis- 
souri Rivers. 

The  party  under  Captain  Lewis  first  proceeded  down 
the  Clark  River,  then  crossed  the  mountains  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Maria  River,  which  they  followed  down  to  its 
union  with  the  Missouri.  Captain  Clark  and  his  party 
journeyed  southward,  up  the  valley  of  the  Clark  to  the 
sources  of  that  stream,  then  crossed  the  mountains  to  the 
head-waters  of  the  Yellowstone,  which  they  descended  in 
canoes  to  the  Missouri,  meeting  Lewis  and  his  men  on  the 
1 2th  of  August.  The  united  party  embarked  on  the  Mis- 
souri, and  reached  St.  Louis  on  the  23d  of  September,  1806, 
having  traveled,  in  going  and  returning,  more  than  9000 
miles. 

This  expedition  was  a  great  success,  judged  by  the  extent 
and  value  of  the  discoveries  made,  though  it  was  not  the 
first  passage  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  whites.  Alexander 
Mackenzie  had  crossed  them  in  1789,  and  again  in  1792  ; 
in  his  first  journey  reaching  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  in  his 
second  the  tide- waters  of  the  Pacific  at  Vancouver.    French 


ao 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


and  Spanish  fur  traders,  also,  had  previously  ascended  the 
Missouri  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone ;  but  com- 
paratively little  correct  knowledge  of  the  river  or  the  adja- 
cent country  was  possessed  before  the  Lewis  and  Clark  ex- 
plorations. The  journals  of  the  latter  furnished  the  first 
authentic  and  definite  accounts  we  have  of  that  vast  terri- 
tory between  the  falls  of  the  Missouri  and  those  of  the  Col- 
umbia; they  were  long  regarded  as  the  principal  source  of 
information  respecting  the  geography,  the  natural  history, 
and  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the  continent. 
It  was,  therefore,  only  three  or  four  years  after  this  great 
territory  came  into  our  possession  that  its  principal  features 
were  made  known,  and  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  evinced  its  intention  to  occupy  and  settle  the 
country. 


CHAPTER  III. 


AMERICAN   SETTLEMENTS. 


THE  success  of  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark 
arrested  public  attention,  and  speedily  led  to  the 
organization  of  a  number  of  companies  for  engaging  in  the 
fur  trade  with  the  natives  of  the  Northwest.  The  first  of 
these,  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  was  formed  in  1808,  in 
St.  Louis,  and  during  the  next  two  years  established  trading 
posts  on  the  upper  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rivers,  and  one 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  Lewis  River,  the  great 
southern  branch  of  the  Columbia.  The  latter  was  un- 
doubtedly the  first  permanent  establishment  in  the  country 
drained  by  the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries.  It  was  aban- 
doned in  1810  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  securing  pro- 
visions, but  more  particularly  because  of  the  hostility  of 
the  Indians  in  the  vicinity. 

The  first  attempt  to  form  a  permanent  settlement  on  the 
Columbia  River  itself  was  made  in  the  early  part  of  1809, 
by  some  Bostonians,  prominent  among  them  the  three 
brothers  Winship.  I'he  ship  Albatross  was  placed  under 
command  of  Nathan  Winship,  and  fitted  out  not  only  with 
everything  necessary  for  trade  with  the  natives,  but  also 
with  materials  for  building,  and  for  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
The  vessel  reached  the  niouth  of  the  Columbia  in  May, 
1 8 10,   and  ascended   the  river   to  a  place  called    Oak 

21 


92 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman* 


Point,  where  a  house  was  built,  land  cleared  and  a  garden 
planted.  The  site  selected  proved  unfortunate  in  many 
respects,  and  was  abandoned  the  same  year. 

John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New  York  City,  organized  in  1810 
the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  for  the  prosecution  of  the  fur 
trade  in  the  northwestern  parts  of  the  continent,  in  con- 
nection with  commerce  with  China.  The  inception  of  the 
scheme  was  wholly  Mr.  Astor's,  and  he  furnished  the  money 
necessary  for  its  execution.  His  plan  ■  s  to  establish 
posts  on  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  Rivers,  and  on  the 
coast  contiguous  to  the  latter,  where  the  furs  were  to  be 
collected  for  shipment  either  east  to  the  United  States,  or 
to  China  where  they  could  be  exchanged  for  silks  and 
tea.  These  posts  were  to  be  furnished  with  provisions  and 
articles  for  barter  with  the  Indians,  either  by  way  of  the 
Missouri  River,  or  by  vessels  direct  from  New  York  City. 
The  principal  post  or  factory,  Astoria,  was  located  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  was  to  be  the  depot  of  sup- 
plies for  all  the  others,  and  the  general  depository  for  the 
furs  purchased.  It  was  also  the  purpose  of  the  Company 
to  engage  largely  in  trade  with  the  Russian  settlements  on 
the  Pacific,  receiving  furs  in  payment  for  provisions  and 
other  articles. 

This  was  a  wise  and  comprehensive  plan,  and,  at  the 
time  it  was  undertaken,  appeared  entirely  practicable.  For 
its  more  successful  prosecution,  Mr.  Astor  admitted  as  part- 
ners, Wilson  G.  Hunt,  John  Clarke  and  Robert  McClel- 
lan,  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  and  Alexander  McKay, 
Duncan  McDougall,  Donald  McKenzie,  David  and  Robert 
Stuart,  and  Ramsey  Crooks,  Canadians.  The  voyageurs 
were  nearly  all  Canadians,  with  Alexander  McKay  as  com- 


American  Settlements. 


23 


jarden 
many 


mander ;  while  the  majority  of  the  clerks  were  Americt*ns, 
and  Mr.  Hunt  was  made  chief  agent  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
The  stock  was  divided  into  one  hundred  shares,  half  of 
which  was  owned  by  the  projector ;  the  remainder  was 
divided  equally  among  his  partners.  Mr.  Astor  agreed  to 
furnish  goods  to  the  value  of  $400,000,  bear  ail  losses  for 
five  years  and  divide  the  profits  if  any. 

The  first  expedition,  consisting  of  four  of  the  Scotch  or 
Canadian  partners,  with  eleven  clerks  and  thirteen  Cana- 
dian voyageurs,  sailed  from  New  York  in  September,  1810, 
on  the  ship  Tonquin.  In  January,  181 1,  the  second  party 
left  St.  Louis,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Hunt,  accompanied  by 
Messrs.  McKenzie,  McClellan  and  Crooks ;  and  in  Octo- 
ber, the  ship  Beaver  Qzxn^di  out  from  New  York  Mr.  Clarke 
and  several  additional  clerks. 

The  Tonquin  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  in 
March,  181 1,  and  the  passengers  were  landed  on  the  shore 
of  Baker's  Bay.  From  this  they  removed  to  a  high  point 
of  land  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  ten  miles  from  the 
ocean,  where  preparations  were  begun  at  once  for  building 
a  fort  and  the  other  buildings  necessary  for  the  safety  of 
the  occupants,  and  for  an  extensive  and  lucrative  trade 
with  the  natives.  Astoria  was  the  name  given  to  the  fort, 
in  honor  of  the  originator  of  the  company.  The  ship 
which  had  borne  them  to  the  coast,  after  landing  its  pas- 
sengers and  freight,  sailed  north  to  collect  furs  from  the 
Russians,  and  to  make  additional  arrangements  for  future 
trading. 

While  building  the  fort,  the  Americans  received  a  visit 
from  a  party  of  men  belonging  to  the  North  West  Com- 
pany, under  the  leadership  of  a  Mr,  Thompson,  who  had 


24 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whiiman. 


been  sent  from  Canada  the  previous  year  with  instructions 
to  occupy  the  mouth  of  the  river  before  the  Americans 
should  effect  a  settlement  there.  On  their  way  down  the 
Columbia,  the  party  had  built  huts  and  named  the  more 
prominent  points  on  the  river,  thus  taking  formal  posses- 
sion, as  they  supposed,  of  all  the  territory ;  but  having 
been  detained  on  their  journey  and  compelled  to  wintei*  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  they  arrived  too  late  to  accomplish 
their  purpose.  The  British  Government,  through  its  com- 
missioners, afterward  claimed  that  Thompson's  occupation 
of  the  country  was  prior  to  that  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Com- 
pany. As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  Captains  Lewis  and 
Clark  descended  the  Columbia  to  its  mouth  in  November, 
1805  ;  while  the  North  West  Company  established  their  first 
post  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1806,  and  this  was 
far  north  of  any  part  of  the  Columbia  River. 

When  Mr.  Thompson  and  his  company  returned  north- 
ward, they  were  accompanied  by  a  party  from  the  Ameri- 
can fort  under  charge  of  David  Stuart,  who  established  a 
trading  post  at  the  confluence  of  the  Okanagon  River 
with  the  Columbia,  four  hundred  miles  above  Astoria. 
Several  other  posts  were  built  during  this  and  the  follow- 
ing year  by  the  Astor  Company.  The  principal  one  was 
on  the  Spokan ;  it  was  used  as  a  place  of  trade  up  to  1825, 
being  occupied  afterward  successively  by  the  North  West 
Company  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

The  party  of  sixty  men  under  the  Chief  Agent,  Mr. 
Hunt,  who  were  to  ascend  the  Missouri  River  and  cross  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Columbia, 
reached  Astoria  bv  way  of  the  latter  river  in  the  spring  of 
1812.     They  suffered   much  from   hunger  and  cold,  the 


American  iSetilcments. 


25 


opposition  of  rival  companies,  and  the  liostility  of  the 
Indians.  Scarcely  had  they  reached  their  destination  when 
word  was  brought  bv  the  natives  of  the  destruction  of  the 
ship  Tonquin  and  the  massacre  of  the  entire  crew  by  the 
Indians  near  the  Straits  of  Fuca. 

In  May,  1812,  the  ship  Beaver  dsx'wtA  at  the  factory, 
bringing  the  third  detachment  of  persons  in  the  service  of 
the  Company,  and  a  large  amount  of  supplies.  Notwith- 
standing the  severe  blow  occasioned  by  the  loss  of  the 
Tonquin,  the  surviving  partners  determined  to  prosecute 
the  enterprise  with  increasing  energy ;  and  Mr.  Hunt  was 
dispatched  in  the  Beaver  to  complete  the  commercial 
arrangements  with  the  Russian  settlements  on  the  northern 
coasts,  leaving  Mr.  McDougali  in  charge  of  the  fort. 

The  affairs  of  the  Company  were  at  this  time  prosper- 
ous ;  provisions  were  abundant,  and  a  large  quantity  of  furs 
had  been  collected,  awaiting  the  return  of  the  Beaver  to 
transport  them  to  China;  when  in  January,  1813,  news 
reached  Astoria  that  war  had  begun  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain.  This  was  followed  by  informa- 
tion that  the  Beaver  was  blockaded  by  a  British  cruiser  in 
the  port  of  Canton,  whither  it  had  gone  with  a  cargo  of 
furs  instead  of  returning  to  the  Columbia. 

Two  agents  of  the  North  West  Company  named  McTavish 
and  Laroque  arrived  at  Astoria  soon  afterward,  bringing 
reports  of  British  victories  on  the  northern  frontier  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  a  British  naval  expedition  on  its 
way  to  take  possession  of  the  Columbia  River.  They  were 
received  by  Mr.  McDougali  and  Mr.  McKenzie,  the  only 
partners  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  at  the  factory,  with 
every  mark  of  friendship,  and  supplied  with  provisions 


26 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


from  the  stores  of  the  fort ;  and  also,  as  some  authorities 
state,  with  goods  for  trading  with  the  Indians.  They  were 
treated,  in  short,  as  if  they  had  been  allies  and  not  rivals 
and  foes.  The  exigencies  of  the  situation  led  to  secret 
conferences  between  hosts  and  guests,  resulting  finally  in 
the  announcement  by  Messrs.  McDougall  and  McKenzie 
that  they  would  dissolve  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  on  the 
ist  of  the  following  June,  should  no  relief  come  mean- 
while. They  made  known  their  decision  to  the  other  resi- 
dent partners,  Messrs.  Stuart  and  Clarke,  who  were  absent 
at  the  Company's  two  principal  neighbor  posts ;  but  both 
these  men  opposed  the  idea  of  abandoning  the  property  of 
the  Company,  and,  on  the  ground  that  assistance  might 
still  reach  them  from  the  United  States,  secured  tiie  prom- 
ise of  a  few  months'  delay.  In  the  meantime  several  of 
the  employes  at  Astoria  left  and  went  into  the  service  of 
the  North  West  Company, 

The  hoped-for  relief  came  not.  Mr.  Astor  had  sent  out 
the  ship  Lark  in  March,  1813,  with  men  and  supplies,  but 
unfortunately  it  was  wrecked  near  one  of  the  Hawaiian. 
Islands,  The  frigate  Adatm^  was  ordered  by  the  United 
States  Government  to  the  North  Pacific  to  protect  the 
establishment  at  Astoria  \  but  just  as  she  was  ready  to  sail 
from  New  York  it  became  necessary  to  transfer  her  crew  to 
Lake  Ontario  to  repel  the  British  in  that  direction,  and  the 
blockade  of  American  ports  by  the  enemy  prevented  all 
further  efforts  at  protection. 

During  this  interval  the  North  West  Company's  party  had 
returned  to  Astoria  and  stated  that  an  armed  ship  was  on 
its  way  from  London  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  every- 
thing American  which  might  be  found  on  the  Northwest 


American  Settlements. 


27 


coast.  They  accordingly  renewed  their  offer  to  purchase 
at  a  fair  valuation  all  the  buildings,  furs  and  stock  in  hand 
of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company.  The  terms  of  sale  were  ac- 
cepted, after  much  bargaining  and  delay,  by  McDougall, 
who  was  in  charge  of  the  factory;  and  on  the  i6th  of 
October,  1813,  the  contract  of  sale  was  signed,  by  which 
the  price  to  be  paid  was  set  at  ;^4o,ooo.* 

Scarcely  had  the  sale  been  completed  and  the  movable 
property  transferred  from  the  factory  to  the  boats  of  the 
North  West  Company,  when  a  British  sloop-of-war  entered 
the  Columbia,  hoping  to  secure  a  rich  prize  in  the  capture 
of  Astoria  with  its  supply  of  provisions  and  its  collection  of 
furs.  The  United  States  flag  was  still  on  the  factory,  and 
McDougall  in  charge  ready  to  surrender  on  demand  ;  but 
all  that  could  make  the  capture  valuable  was  already  far  up 
the  Columbia,  on  board  the  barges  of  the  rival  company. 
Nothing  was  left  to  the  British  captain  but  the  satisfaction 
of  lowering  the  American  and  hoisting  the  English  flag  and 
renaming  the  factory,  Fort  George. 

Mr.  Hunt,  the  general  agent  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company, 
learning  that  a  British  force  had  been  ordered  to  the 
Pacific  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  the  American  possessions 
on  the  Columbia,  proceeded  at  once  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
and   chartered    the   American   brig  Pedlar^  in  which  he 

♦Bancroft,  "|8o.ooo." 

Wheeler  says,  "aboutl.sS.ooo;"  but  this  is  of  slight  importance.  Mr.  Gray 
states  that  the  appraised  value  of  the  furs  alone  at  the  factory  was  136,835.50, 
leaving  but  little  more  than  I3000  for  all  the  buildings  at  Astoria,  and 
those  at  Okanagon  and  Spokan,  which,  with  the  necessary  equipments  for 
trade,  had  cost  the  company  nearly  |2oo,ooo.  When  it  became  necessary 
for  the  United  States  to  purchase  this  property  in  1865,  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  after  using  it  for  more  than  forty  years,  asked  for  the  three  es- 
tablishmentQ  more  than  |ioo,ooo. 


28 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


sailed  foi  Astoria,  where  he  arrived  in  February,  1814. 
But  he  found  the  sale  consummated,  the  property  removed, 
and  McDougall  superintending  the  factory  as  agent  and 
partner  of  the  North  West  Company.  Mr.  Hunt  could  do 
nothing  but  receive  the  Montreal  bills  given  in  payment 
for  :he  Company's  effects;  with  these  he  reembarked  in  the 
Pealar,  and  proceeded  to  the  United  States  by  way  of 
Canton. 

Such  was  the  inglorious  ending  of  Mr.  Astor's  well- 
planned  scheme  to  establish  settlements  and  trade  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  Its  failure  was  due  to  no  lack  of  wisdom  in 
its  inception  or  of  resources  for  its  successful  prosecution, 
but  chiefly  to  circumstances  which  could  not  reasonably 
have  been  anticipated.  One  of  these  was  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  which  made  all  communication  with  the  settle- 
ments, either  by  sea  or  land,  uncertain  and  difficult,  and 
rendered  the  furs  collected  of  little  value  as  they  could  not 
be  transported  by  the  Company's  vessels  to  a  market  in 
China;  another  was  the  treachery  of  Mr.  Astor's  Canadian 
partners,  who,  during  Mr.  Hunt's  absence  from  Astoria, 
entered  into  a  compact  with  agents  of  the  North  West  Com- 
pany for  the  sale  of  the  property  that  had  been  left  in  their 
custody.  It  is  not  surprising  that  Mr.  Astor  declared, 
when  he  heard  of  the  transaction,  that  he  would  have  much 
preferred  the  capture  and  destruction  of  all  his  property  by 
the  enemy,  to  seeing  it  bartered  away  in  so  disgraceful  a 
manner. 

We  are  aware  that  Mr.  Greenhow,  in  his  history  of 
Oregon,  presents  a  plausible  excuse  for  the  conduct  of 
the  agents  who  effected  the  sale,  although  admitting  that 
their  motives  will  ever  be  open  to  suspicion.     Not  being. 


liU-^ 


ttms/mmmmmam 


American  Settlements. 


citizens  of  the  United  States,  he  reasons,  they  could  not  be 
expected  to  resist  with  force  an  attempt  to  seize  the  forts 
and  property  of  the  Company ;  and  believing  these  to  be  in 
danger  of  capture,  they  resorted  to  a  sale  as  the  best  method 
of  protecting  the  interests  of  all  concerned. 

Other  writers  have  adopted  this  view,  or  have  been  con- 
tent to  ascribe  the  war  of  1812  as  a  sufficient  cause  for  the 
failure  of  the  Astor  enterprise.  Rev.  Myron  Eells,  for  in- 
stance, in  his  History  of  Indian  Missions  on  the  Pacific 
Coast, ^  states  that  **  Astoria  was  sold  to  the  Northwestern 
Fur  Company  owing  to  the  war  of  1812  with  England." 

As  opposed  to  this,  and  confirmatory  of  the  view  given 
above,  we  have  the  statement  of  Gabriel  Franchere,  a 
British  subject  from  Montreal  who  was  connected  with  the 
Pacific  Fur  Company,  and  was  at  Astoria  when  all  the 
transactions  took  place.  In  his  volume  entitled  North- 
west Coast  of  America,  p.  178,  he  says  :  **  Mr.  Hunt  (who 
had  returned  from  the  Sandwich  Islands)  was  surprised 
beyond  measure  when  we  informed  him  of  the  resolution 
we  had  taken  of  abandoning  the  country ;  he  blamed  us 
severely  for  having  actea  with  so  much  precipitation." 
On  p.  191  he  gives  an  account  of  the  **  stratagem  "  of  the 
i^orth  West  Company  to  get  possession,  by  representing 
through  a  letter  of  Mr.  Shaw,  a  partner  of  that  company, 
that  the  ship  Isaac  Todd  and  the  frigate  Phosbe  had  sailed 
from  England  with  orders  from  the  Government  to  seize 
the  establishment.  He  further  states  that  this  had  a  most 
important  influence  in  selling ;  and  complains  of  **  such 
treatment  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government,  after  the 
assurance  we  had  received  from  Mr.  Jackson,  His  Majesty's 

*p.  151. 


36 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whifman. 


Charge  d'affaires,  previous  to  our  departure  from  New 
York."  And  then,  on  p.  203,  he  shows  how  easily  the 
property  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  could  have  been 
saved  from  capture  by  the  British  sloop-of-war.  "  It  was 
only  necessary  to  get  rid  of  the  land  party  of  the  North 
West  Company,  who  were  completely  in  our  power,  then 
remove  our  effects  by  boat  up  the  river  upon  some  small 
stream,  and  await  the  result." 

This  is  precisely  what  was  done  with  tne  property  by  the 
North  West  Company,  after  getting  possession  of  it.*  "  The 
charge  of  treason  to  Mr.  Astor's  interests,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world,  will  always  be  attached  to  their  characters, 
McDougall  and  McKenzie,  Astor's  partners.  McDougall, 
as  a  reward  for  betraying  the  trust  reposed  in  him,  was 
made  a  partner  in  the  North  West  Company." 

Mrs.  Victor  passes  the  same  judgment  upon  the  transac- 
tion. "The  Canadian  partners,"  she  says,  "took  advan- 
tage of  the  situation  to  betray  Mr.  Astor's  interests. "f 

*  Hubert  Bancroft  says  that  the  property  could  not  have  been  thus  saved 
by  the  members  of  the  Company,  aa  the  Indians  and  the  North  West  Com- 
pany would  have  prevented  their  getting  supplies— that  the  latter  Com- 
pany was  determined  to  drive  them  out. 

\  River  of  the  West,  p.  34. 


'I 

i   ii 


;       'If 


CHAPTER  IV. 


FOREIGN    TRADING   COMPANIES. 


OF  the  foreign  companies,  claiming  exclusive  privi- 
leges of  trade  in  this  vast  country,  the  North  West, 
though  not  the  first  formed,  was  the  first  to  come  into 
active  competition  with  American  enterprises;  and,  as  we 
have  seen,  succeeded  to  the  property  at  Astoria  and  to  the 
trade  so  auspiciously  begun  there.  The  Company  was  or- 
ganized in  1784,*  at  Montreal,  and  its  forty  shares  were 
distributed  among  the  men  engaged  directly  in  its  service, 
in  this  way  securing  their  devotion  to  its  interests.  Part  of 
the  stock  was  held  by  the  agents,  who  resided  in  Montreal 
and  supplied  goods  and  the  necessary  capital ;  the  rest  by 
the  partners,  who  conducted  the  business  at  the  interior 
trading  posts  or  forts,  and  the  clerks,  who  traded  directly 
with  the  natives.  Goods  required  for  the  trade  were  im- 
ported from  England,  and  then  carried  in  boats  to  the  most 
distant  posts  of  the  Company ;  and  the  furs  obtained  in 
exchange  were  sent  back  in  the  same  way  to  Montreal. 

Desiring  to  extend  its  trade  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the 
Company  sent  out  several  exploring  expeditions.  The 
first,  led  by  Mackenzie,  in  1 789,  discovered  the  Mackenzie 
River  and  followed  it  to  the  ocean.     The  second,  in  1793, 


*  Bancroft,  1793. 


31 


32 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


under  the  same  intrepid  explorer,  started  from  Fort  Chipe- 
wan  and  crossed  the  American  continent  at  its  widest  part, 
and,  by  way  of  Frazer's  River,  readied  the  Pae  Ocean 
at  the  mouth  of  an  inlet  named  by  Vancouver  the  Cascade 
Canal.  Other  agents  of  the  Company  explored  the  coun- 
try southwest  to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the 
region  drained  by  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri.  In 
this  way  a  more  accurate  knowledge  was  obtained  of  the 
country,  while  avenues  were  opened  for  a  prosperous  and 
greatly  extended  trade,  Its  explorations  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  however,  were  all  far  north  of  the  waters  of  the 
Columbia  River. 

The  first  establishment  founded  by  the  North  West  Com- 
pany west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  in  1805,  on  Mc- 
Leod  Lake,  near  the  54th  parallel  of  latitude  ;  its  pur- 
pose was  to  give  the  Company  eventual  control  of  the 
trade  in  the  entire  country  watered  by  the  Columbia  and 
its  tributaries.  Such  efforts  were  natural  and  to  be  ex- 
pected, as  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark  excited  the 
jealousy  of  the  British  Government  and  all  the  foreign 
trading  companies,  and  led  the  North  West  Company  to 
send  a  party  in  all  haste  down  the  northern  branch  of  the 
Columbia  in  181 1  to  secure  prior  possession.  It  contin- 
ued to  be  the  settled  policy  of  this  Company  to  drive  out 
of  the  country  all  parties  engaged  in  trade  with  the  In- 
dians, so  that  it  might  maintain  its  monopoly  in  furs. 
Nor  was  it  scrupulous  as  to  means.  If  fair  competition 
would  not  avail  it  did  not  hesitate  to  resort  to  the  most 
unjustifiable  measures,  even  to  exciting  the  natives  to 
plunder  and  murder. 

But  while  thus  actively  engaged  in  extending  its  trade 


Foreign  Trading  Companies. 


33 


across  the  continent  and  supplanting  the  enterprise  and 
influence  of  others,  and  especially  all  American  traders, 
it  encountered  a  formidable  competitor  and  rival  in  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  which  could  not  be  subdued  and 
driven  from  the  field. 

This  Company  owed  its  origin  to  a  charter  granted  in 
1670  by  Charles  II  to  an  association  of  London  mer- 
chants, covering  all  the  region  of  country  surrounding 
Hudson  Bay.  An  important  consideration  in  granting 
the  charter  was  that,  through  the  explorations  of  agents  of 
the  association,  the  regions  lying  west  of  Hudson  and 
Baffin  Bays  would  be  made  known  and  a  means  of  water 
communication  discovered  between  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  Oceans.  The  management  of  the  Company  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  governor  or  deputy  governor  and 
a  committee  of  seven  members  residing  in  London,  and 
the  powers  conferred  were  exclusive  and  well-nigh  sover- 
eign. The  charter  gave  the  grantees  not  only  the  entire 
trade  and  commerce  of  that  vast  region,  but  also  made 
them  proprietors  of  the  territory,  and  authorized  them  to 
establish  courts  and  enact  civil  and  criminal  laws  for  the 
government  of  their  possessions.  All  other  persons  were 
forbidden,  under  heavy  penalties,  to  trade  within  their 
domain,  and  they  were  empowered  to  build  fortifications 
to  protect  their  rights  and  property  against  intruders 
throughout  that  portion  of  America  drained  by  streams 
entering  Hudson  Bay. 

Under  such  encouraging  conditions  this  powerful  cor- 
poration gradually  extended  its  influence  among  the  na- 
tives and  established  its  trading  posts,  till  in  due  course  it 
set  about  the  destruction  of  all  troublesome  rivals,  includ- 


34 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whiimati. 


•ing  the  North  West  Company.  The  plan  adopted  was  to 
grant  to  Lord  Selkirk,  a  Scotch  nobleman,  100,000  square 
miles  of  land  around  Red  River  for  purposes  of  coloniza- 
tion. To  have  this  territory  thus  occupied  would  have 
been  ruinous  to  the  North  West  Company,  whose  chief 
route  from  Canada  to  their  northwestern  trading  posts  ran 
through  it,  while  from  it  wer  obtained  most  of  the  pro- 
visions required  for  those  posts.  The  validity  of  the  grant 
was  therefore  denied  by  the  North  West  Company  and  re- 
sistance made  to  the  settlement  of  the  country;  and  when 
finally  the  governor  of  the  new  province  attempted  by 
proclamation  to  prohibit  all  persons  from  trading  within 
its  limits,  a  deadly  feud  began  between  the  two  great  cor- 
porations. In  1 816  their  respective  adherents  engaged  in 
a  bloody  battle  near  Fort  Douglas,  in  which  the  Hudson 
Bay  party  were  defeated  and  twenty-two  of  them  killed, 
including  the  governor,  and  the  fort  occupied  by  the 
victors. 

This  only  served  to  intensify  the  hostility  between  the 
companies,  who,  enlisting  their  employes  and  the  Indians 
over  whom  they  had  influence,  engaged  in  frequent  and 
bloody  strifes,  until  they  wiped  out  well-nigh  the  entire 
profits  of  the  fur  trade  and  endangered  the  lives  of  all 
white  men  by  the  savage  feelings  tliey  had  excited  among 
the  natives. 

This  condition  of  affairs  was  brought  before  the  British 
Parliament  in  1810  and  a  compromise  was  effected,  where- 
by the  rival  corporations  were  united  in  July,  182 1,  under 
the  name  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  The  united 
Company  received  grants  for  exclusive  trade  for  twenty- 
one  years  in  all  the   territory  north  of  Canada  and  the 


Poreign  Trading  Cornpanies. 


35 


United  States  and  in  that  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ; 
and  the  servants  of  the  Company  were  commissioned  to 
act  as  justices  of  peace,  so  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
courts  of  Upper  Canada  was  carried  to  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific. 

This  union  proved  most  advantageous,  and  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  spared  neither  effort  nor  expense  to  acquire 
influence  over  all  the  Indian  tribes  and  to  erect  trading 
posts  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  especially  on  the 
Columbia  River  and  its  tributaries.  "  The  agents  of  the 
Company,"  says  Mr.  Greenhow,  ''were  seen  in  every 
part  of  the  continent,  north  and  northwest  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
hunting,  trapping  and  trading  with  the  aborigines;  its 
boats  went  on  every  stream  and  lake,  conveying  British 
goods  into  the  interior  or  furs  to  the  great  depositories  on 
each  ocean,  for  shipment  to  England  in  British  vessels. 
Of  the  trading  posts,  many  were  fortified  and  could  be  de- 
fended by  their  inmates — men  inured  to  hardships  and 
dangers — against  all  attacks  which  might  be  apprehended ; 
and  the  whole  vast  expanse  of  territory,  including  the  re- 
gions drained  by  the  Columbia,  was,  in  fact,  occupied  by 
British  forces  and  governed  by  British  laws,  though  there 
was  not  a  single  British  soldier,  technically  speaking, 
within  its  limits." 

The  Company  succeeded  so  well  and  became  so  power- 
ful that  American  citizens  were  obliged  not  only  to  relin- 
quish all  hope  of  trade  in  the  interior  but  even  to  with- 
draw their  vessels  from  the  coast.  It  had  in  the  year 
1846,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Sir  James  Douglas, 
55  officers  and  513  articled  men  in  its  employ.     These 


36 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


were  all  bound  by  a  strict  agreement  to  subserve,  under 
all  circumstances,  the  interests  of  the  Company,  and  were 
forbidden  to  acquire  any  personal  or  real  estate,  were  de- 
pendent upon  their  pay  as  its  servants,  and  were  subject  to 
any  punishment  which  should  be  inflicted  by  the  officer 
in  charge  for  neglect  of  duty.  It  had  twenty-three  forts 
and  five  trading  stations  judiciously  situated  for  its  busi- 
ness and  forming  a  network  of  posts  supporting  each  other. 
It  had  trading  parties  extending  into  California,  Utah, 
Arizona,  Montana  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  north 
along  the  northwestern  water-shed  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. It  had  two  steamers  to  enter  all  the  bays,  harbors 
and  rivers  c'  the  Pacific  coast  from  Mexico  to  Russian 
America.  Witn  ..  umber  of  men  and  resources  we 
can  readily  admit  Sir  James  Douglas'  claim  that  the  Com- 
pany **  possessed  an  extraordinary  influence  with  the  In- 
dians, and  in  1846  practically  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the 
fur  trade  in  the  country  v/est  of  the  Rocky  Mountains." 

Similar  testimony  as  to  the  Company's  power  is  given 
in  a  report  of  the  Scri;i*.e  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  in 
1839,  by  Mr.  Hall  J.  Kelley,  who  visited  Oregon  in  1835 
and  1836.  "The  Company  exercise  full  authority  over 
all,"  he  says,  "whether  Indians,  English  or  Americans, 
who  are  in  its  service,  and  in  a  manner  always  injurious 
and  generally  disastrous  to  all  others  who  undertake  to 
trade  or  settle  in  the  territory.  It  may  be  said,  in  fact, 
that  Americans,  except  associated  with  this  Company,  are 
not  permitted  to  carry  on  a  traffic  within  several  hui.dred 
miles  of  the  Company's  posts."  He  proceeds  to  show 
how  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  coast,  as  well  as  the 
inland  trade,  h?d  been  cut  off.     Whenever  a  vessel  ap- 


ll 


Foreign  Trading  Companies. 


37 


peared  the  Company  despatched  one  of  its  own,  with 
orders  to  follow  her  from  port  to  port,  undersell  her,  and 
drive  her  off  the  coast  at  any  sacrifice.  Mr.  Simpson, 
who  had  charge  of  this  part  of  the  Company's  business, 
declared  that  it  was  "resolved,  even  at  the  cost  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds,  to  expel  the  Americans  from  traffic 
on  that  coast." 

Mi.  J.  K.  Townsend,  a  naturalist  who  visited  Oregon  in 
1834,  wholly  in  the  interests  of  his  favorite  science,  and 
who  remained  there  two  years,  after  speaking  of  the  many 
acts  of  kindness  he  had  received  from  the  agents  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  says:  **  Travelers,  and  all  who  are 
not  traders,  are  kindly  treated ;  but  the  moment  the  visitor 
is  kno\  to  trade  a  beaver  skin  from  an  Indian,  that  mo- 
ment he  is  ejected  from  the  community,  and  all  communi- 
cation between  him  and  the  officers  of  the  Company  ceases. 
When  Captain  Wyeth*  with  his  party  arrived  at  Walla 
Walla  Fort,  on  his  passage  down  the  Columbia,  he  was  re- 
quired by  the  superintendent  to  promise  that  during  his 
journey  from  thence  to  Vancouver — 300  miles — he  wojld 
not  buy  a  beaver  skin  ;  the  functionary  assuring  him  that 
unless  he  consented  so  to  bind  himself,  he  would  send  a 
party  ahead  of  him  to  purchase  every  beaver  skin  at  a  price 
which  he  could  not  afford  to  pay. ' '  He  further  states  that 
the  Company  had  a  large  sum  of  rr.oney  which  it  employed 
solely  for  the  purpose  "  of  opposing  all  who  may  come  to 
interfere  with  their  monopoly,  by  purchasing,  at  exorbi- 
tant prices,  all  the  furs  in  the  possesion  of  the  Indians,  and 
thus  forcing  the  settler  to  come  to  terms,  or  driving  him 
from  the  country." 

'*  Mr.  Townsend  entered  Oregon  in  company  with  Captain  Wyeth. 


38 


The  Story  of  Marcus  WhUman. 


.The  evidence  of  Mr.  Greenhow  on  this  point  is  valuable 
as  coming  from  the  friendliest  source.  We  can  readily 
admit  what  he  says  about  the  kindness  and  hospitality 
shown  by  the  Company  to  strangers  in  that  country,  so  long- 
as  they  did  not  in  the  remotest  manner  interfere  with  its 
commercial  monopoly  \  but  even  he  admits  that  when  "  any 
one  unconnected  with  the  Company  attempted  to  hunt,  or 
trap,  or  trade  with  the  natives,  then  all  the  force  of  the 
body  was  immediately  turned  toward  him." 

Mr.  Greenhow  asserts  also  that  the  Company  endeavored 
"  to  prevent  the  vessels  of  the  United  States  from  obtain- 
ing cargoes  on  the  northwest  coasts;"  and  that  '*  the  pub- 
lications made  by  the  directors  and  agents  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  evince  the  most  hostile  feelings  toward  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  against  whom  every  species 
of  calumny  is  leveled  in  those  works." 

A  further  method  employed  by  the  Company  for  retain- 
ing control  of  all  the  trade  of  the  country  was  to  place  ar- 
bitrary and  unjust  restrictions  on  all  commerce  with  the 
Indians.  It  fixed  the  prices  to  be  paid  for  furs  according 
to  its  own  low  and  mercenary  standard,  and  any  deviation 
from  this  tariff  was  sure  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  the 
monopoly.  Nor  was  this  exacted  alone  of  its  own  agents 
and  employes.  Its  power  was  such  that  no  person  dared 
to  oppose  its  arbitrary  commands,  as  implicit  obedience 
was  the  condition  of  its  favor  and  protection.  The  policy 
thus  pursued  for  purposes  of  trade  would  necessarily  be  an- 
tagonistic to  permanent  settlement  of  the  country  and  ra'iid 
increase  of  the  population.  The  Indians  must  be  discour- 
aged in  all  their  attempts  to  adopt  civilized  methods  of 
life,  as  they  would  then  abandon  the  pursuit  of  fur-bearing 


Foreign  Trading  Companies. 


39 


animals ;  and  the  entire  country  must  be  preserved  in  its 
wild,  primitive  condition,  to  furnish  a  suitable  home  for 
the  fox,  the  bear,  and  the  beaver.  Sir  Edward  Fitzgerald 
thus  summed  it  up:  <'  The  Hudson  Bay  Company  has  en^ 
tailed  misery  and  destruction  upon  thousands  throughout 

the  country  which  is  withering  under  its  curse It 

has  stopped  the  extension  of  civilization,  and  has  excluded 
the  light  of  religious  truth. ' '     It  was  a  despotic  govern- 
ment, he  declared,   which  had  so  used  its  monopoly  of 
commerce  and  its  power,  '*as  to  shut  up  the  earth  from  the 
knowledge  of  man,  „nd  man  from  the  ^:nowledge  of  God." 
In  its  desire  to  discourage  immigration  from  every  quar- 
ter, but  more  especially  from  the  United  States,  the  Com- 
pany adopted  two  measures.     The  first  was  to  represent  the 
land  as  sterile,  and  not  susceptible  of  profitable  cultivation 
—  "an  unbroken  waste  of  sand  deserts  and  impassable 
mountains,  fit  only  for  the  beaver,  the  gray  bear  and  the 
savage."     The  second  was  to  discourage  all  immigration 
from  the  East,   by  representing  that   insurmountable  ob- 
stacles were  in  the  way — mountains  and  rivers  that  could 
not  be  crossed  j  deserts  where  famine  would  surely  ensue  ; 
distances  30  great  that  the  snows  of  a  polar  winter  would 
overwhelm  the  immigrant  before  he  could  reach  any  settle- 
ment ;  and  hostile  savages  ever  ready  to  plunder  and  mur- 
der the  defenseless   traveler.      These  representations  de- 
terred most  persons  from  attempts  to  penetrate  the  then 
unknown  region ;  a  few  who  were  more  resolute  and  ven- 
turesome, and  who  set  out  upon  the  long  journey,  were 
turned  '■>ack  by  the  agents  of  the  Company  at  its  eastc'-n 
forts. 

General  Palmer  says  in  his  journal  (p.  43):  "While  we 


I  i 


i  I 


il 


I 


40 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


remained  at  this  place  (Fort  Hall),  great  efforts  were  made 
to  induce  the  immigrants  to  pursue  the  route  to  California. 
The  most  extravagant  tales  were  related  respecting  the  dan- 
gers awaiting  a  trip  to  Oregon,  and  the  difficulties  and 
trials  to  be  surmounted For  instance,  the  cross- 
ings of  Snake  River,  and  the  crossings  of  the  Columbia  ai;  d 
other  smaller  streams,  were  represented  as  being  atte)je_. 

with  great  danger In  addition  to  the  above,  it  ,i^as 

asserted  that  three  or  four  tribes  of  Indians  in  the  middle 
regions  had  combined  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  our 
passage  through  their  country.  In  case  we  escaped  de- 
struction at  the  hands  of  the  savages,  that  a  more  fearful 
enemy — famine — would  attend  our  march,  as  the  distance 
was  so  great  that  winter  would  overtake  us  before  making 
the  Cascade  mountains." 

Were  it  necessary  to  multiply  evidence,  statements  could 
be  produced  from  the  Company's  own  agents,  showing  its 
fixed  purpose  to  exclude  American  settlers.  At  this  time, 
1832,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Company  txciv^isea 
exclusive  civil  and  commercial  jurisdiction  from  the 
Russian  settlement  on  the  north  to  the  Gulf  of  California 
on  the  south  and  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  east 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  west,  leaving  but  a  narrow 
strip  of  neutral  territory  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
the  western  borders  of  Missouri. 


M 


CHAPTER  V. 


PROTESTANT  MISSIONS   IN   OREGON. 


SO  much  consideration  has  been  given  to  the  early  history 
of  Oregon  because  it  has  been  thought  desirable  that 
the  reader  should  have  some  knowledge  of  the  condition 
of  the  country  and  its  original  inhabitants,  and  of  the 
almost  absolutely  controlling  influence  exerted  by  the  fur 
traders,  particularly  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Enough 
has  been  said  to  make  plain  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome 
by  the  missionaries  who  soon  thereafter  attempted  to  Chris- 
tianize and  civilize  the  Indians. 

The  Flatheads  and  Nez  Percys  having  learned,  either 
from  members  of  the  land  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark 
or  from  American  trappers  who  had  visited  them  later,  of 
the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being  who  alone  was  worthy  of 
worship,  and  of  a  book  from  heaven  for  their  instruction, 
earnestly  desired  that  Christian  teachers  should  be  sent  to 
expound  more  fully  the  Christian  religion.  After  waiting 
long  in  vain  for  these  religious  guides,  they  at  last  resolved 
to  send  four  of  their  number  East,  or,  in  their  own  expres- 
sive language,  "  to  the  rising  sun,"  where,  they  were  told, 
they  could  learn  all  about  the  All-Powerful  Being  and  his 
Holy  Word.  The  messengers  made  their  way  through 
forests,  across  rivers,  and  over  prairies,  encountering  many 
hostile  tribes,  until  at  last  they  reached  St.  Louis,  where 
they  met  General   Clark,  the  Superintendent  of   Indian 


42 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


Affairs  for  the  entire  Northwest,  who  had  in  1805-6  ex- 
plored the  region  of  country  whence  they  came.  Though 
kindly  treated  by  the  General,  who  supplied  them  with 
food  and  cV)thing,  and  took  them  to  the  theatre  and  other 
places  of  en.--:  ment,  yet,  so  far  as  known,  nothing  was 
done  directly  L.  aid  them  in  securing  the  object  of  their 
perilous  journey  of  over  3000  miles  ;  so  that,  when  the  time 
came  for  their  return,  they  were  sad  at  heart,  as  they  after- 
ward told  one  of  their  missionaries,  for  they  had  not  seen 
nor  obtained  *'  the  Book  from  Heaven." 

It  is  not  known  how  long  they  remained  in  St.  Louis, 
but  while  there  the  older  two  died,  leaving  the  others  to 
go  back  to  their  people  and  report  their  mission  unful- 
filled. Taking  passage  on  a  steamer  of  the  American  Fur 
Company,  which  was  starting  for  the  upper  Missouri  and 
to  a  post  of  the  Company  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, they  set  out  on  their  return  journey.  Only  one 
reached  his  people,  the  other  sickened  and  died  on  the 
way.  Before  quitting  St.  Louis,  they  made  the  usual  cere- 
monial call  upon  General  Clark,  and  in  a  farewell  address 
one  of  them  made  known  their  sorrow  and  disappointment 
in  the  following  pathetic  words : 

*'  I  came  to  you,"  said  he,  **  over  a  trail  of  many  moons 
from  the  setting  sun.  You  were  the  friend  of  my  fathers, 
who  have  all  gone  the  long  way.  I  came  with  one  eye 
partly  opened,  for  more  light  for  my  people  who  sit  in 
darkness.  I  go  back  with  both  eyes  closed.  How  can  I  go 
back  blind  to  my  blind  people?  I  '-aade  my  way  to  you  with 
strong  arms,  through  many  enemies  and  strange  lands,  that 
I  might  carry  back  much  to  them.  I  go  back  with  both 
arms  broken  and  empty.     The  two  fathers  who  came  with 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


43 


me — the  braves  of  many  winters  and  wars — we  leave  asleep 
here  by  your  great  water.  They  were  tired  in  many  moons 
and  their  moccasins  wore  out.  My  people  sent  me  to  get 
the  white  man's  Book  of  Heaven.  You  took  me  where 
you  allow  your  women  to  dance,  as  we  do  not  ours,  and  the 
Book  was  not  there.  You  took  me  where  they  worship  the 
Great  Spirit  with  candles,  and  the  Book  was  not  there. 
You  showed  me  the  images  of  good  spirits  and  pictures  of 
the  good  land  beyond,  but  the  Book  was  not  among  them. 
I  am  going  back  the  long,  sad  trail  to  my  people  of  the 
dark  land.  You  make  my  feet  heavy  with  burdens  of  gifts, 
and  my  moccasins  will  grow  old  in  carrying  them,  but  the 
Book  is  not  among  them.  When  I  tell  my  poor  blind  peo- 
ple, after  one  more  snow,  in  the  big  council,  that  I  did  not 
bring  the  Book,  no  word  will  be  spoken  by  our  old  men  or 
by  our  young  braves.  One  by  one  they  will  rise  up  and  go 
out  in  silence.  My  people  will  die  in  darkness,  and  they 
will  go  on  the  long  path  to  the  other  hunting-grounds.  No 
white  man  will  go  with  them  and  no  white  man's  Book,  to 
niake  the  way  plain.     I  have  no  more  words." 

This  sad  complaint  was  heard  by  a  young  man  who 
was  present  at  the  interview.  He  was  deeply  impressed 
with  its  painful  ending.  In  writing  to  some  friends  in 
Pittsburg  he  mentioned  the  circumstances,  and  these 
friends  in  turn  spoke  to  Mr.  Catlin,  the  great  naturalist 
and  artist,  who  had  just  returned  from  one  of  his  many 
trips  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.*     Mr.   Catlin  wrote  and 

*Tn  his  "  Indian  Letters"  Mr.  Catlin  thus  speaks  of  this  mission  :  "When 
I  first  heard  of  It,  I  could  scarcely  bellev«  it,  but  on  consulting  with  Gen- 
eral Clark  I  was  fully  convinced  of  the  fact They  had  been  told  that 

our  relij^ion  vas  better  than  theirs,  and  that  they  would  all  be  lost  if  they 
did  not  eiubrac©  it." 


I  V 

i  1 


^  Vm 


II I 


44 


TAe  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


inquired  of  General  Clark  as  to  the  truth  of  the  state- 
ment. His  reply  was:  "It  is  true.  The  sole  object  of 
their  visit  was  to  get  the  Bible."  With  this  confirmation 
the  letter  was  published,  and  the  facts  became  known  to 
the  Christian  public. 

The  fact  that  these  Indians  were  seeking  a  knowledge  of 
the  true  God,  and  had  traveled  more  than  three  thousand 
miles  to  procure  a  copy  of  the  Bible,  at  once  excited  great 
interest  in  all  the  churches.  The  result  was  the  establish- 
ment by  the  Missionary  Board  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  a  mission  in  the  Willamette  valley  in  Oregon, 
under  Rev.  Jason  Lee  and  his  associates,  in  1834;  the  ap- 
pointment of  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  and  Dr.  Marcus  Whit- 
man, by  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  to  explore  the  country  in  1835,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  a  mission  by  the  same  Board  in  1836. 

The  first  missionary  party  sent  out  by  the  Methodist 
Church  consisted  of  Revs.  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee,  Cyrus 
Shepard  and  P.  L.  Edwards.  Under  the  escort  furnished 
by  Captain  Nathaniel  Wyeth  of  Massachusetts,  who,  in 
1832,  had  taken  measures  to  establish  trade  in  Oregon, 
they  crossed  the  mountains  and^  reached  the  plain  of  the 
Snake  River,  known  subsequently  as  Fort  Hall.  From 
this  point  they  proceeded  with  a  party  of  Hudson  Bay 
traders  to  Fort  Nez  Perc6,  and  thence  to  Vancouver. 
They  made  their  first  permanent  location  about  sixty  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette,  near  what  is  now  called 
Wheatland,  and  at  once  made  the  necessary  preparations 
to  engage  in  the  benevolent  work  that  had  brought  them  to 
the  country. 

The  mission  was  largely  reinforced  in  1837,  and  again 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


45 


in  1839,  when  it  consisted  of  twelve  clergymen  and  their 
wives  and  families,  with  a  large  number  of  lay  assistants — 
physicians,  mechanics  and  farmers.  These  large  reinforce- 
ments enabled  them  to  establish  additional  mission  sta- 
tions, and  to  do  more  than  ever  before  both  for  Indians 
and  for  whites.  This. was  the  period  of  the  mission's 
greatest  prosperity,  as  to  both  educational  and  strictly  mis- 
sionary labors.  For  various  causes,  which  we  cannot  take 
space  to  discuss,  the  work  languished,  and  in  1847  the 
mission  was  given  up  by  the  Methodist  Board  of  Missions. 
Its  principal  school  property  was  sold  to  the  trustees  of  the 
Oregon  Institute,  and  its  station  at  the  Dalles  transferred  to 
the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Rev.  Samuel  Parker  and  Marcus  Whitman,  M.D.,  who 
had  been  appointed  in  1835  to  explore  the  country  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  with  a  view  to  engaging  in  missionary 
labors  among  the  Indians,  in  due  course  reached  the 
American  rendezvous  on  Green  River,  in  company  with 
traders  connected  with  the  American  Fur  Company. 
Here  they  were  met  by  a  large  number  of  Nez  Perc6 
Indians,  who  had  come  to  trade  and  procure  supplies,  and 
with  whom  it  was  arranged  that  Mr.  Parker  should  go  to 
their  own  country,  while  Dr.  Whitman  should  return  to  the 
States  and  report  to  the  American  Board  j  and  should  the 
Board  decide  to  establish  a  mission,  procure  associates  and 
the  material  necessary  for  a  station  in  the  Nez  Perc6  coun- 
try. Accordingly,  in  company  with  the  friendly  Indians, 
Mr.  Parker  continued  his  journey  and  his  explorations  until 
he  reached  the  Columbia  River,  where  canoes  were  taken  to 
Vancouver. 

On  the  strength  of  Dr.  Whitman's  report,  the  American 


1 


\ 


4fi 


2%e  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


Board  resolved  to  enter  upon  the  work,  and  instructed 
•Rev.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman,  and  Rev.  H.  H.  and  Mrs. 
Spalding  to  proceed  the  next  year  to  Oregon  for  mission- 
ary labor  among  the  Nez  Perces.  Provided  with  a  two 
years'  supply  of  such  materials  as  they  would  require  for  a 
residence  so  many  thousand  miles  ^way  from  civilization, 
the  missionaries  made  their  way  to  Liberty  Landing,  on 
the  Missouri  River,  where  they  were  joined  by  Mr.  W.  H. 
Gray,  the  secular  a'^ent  of  the  expedition. 

A  few  days  were  spent  at  this  point  in  procuring  wagons 
and  horses,  and  in  packing  goods  for  the  journey.  Messrs. 
Spalding  and  Gray  then  went  with  the  train  to  Fort  Leaven- 
worth, while  Dr.  Whitman  and  the  ladies  ascended  the 
river  by  boat  and  joined  them  there.  Here  again  the  goods 
were  rearranged ;  and,  while  the  train  proceeded  as  before 
by  land,  the  Doctor  and  the  ladies  were  to  continue  up  the 
river  to  Council  Bluffs,  the  point  from  which  the  American 
Fur  Company's  caravan  was  to  start  that  year. 

This  part  of  the  plan  was  frustrated  by  the  failure  of  the 
Company's  boat  to  land  at  the  fort,  and  Dr.  Whitman  was 
compelled  to  send  forward  to  Mr.  Gray  for  horses  in  order 
to  overtake  the  train.  They  were  thus  detained  so  long 
that  the  Fur  Company's  convoy  had  started,  and  was  already 
six  days  out  on  the  plains,  before  they  arrived  at  Council 
Bluffs.  Nothing  was  left  for  them  but  to  press  on  after  the 
caravan  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  they  overtook  it  at  the 
Pawnee  village  on  the  Loup  Fork.  The  difficulties  of  such 
a  chase  will  be  appreciated  if  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the 
missionary  party  were  all  strangers  in  the  country,  that 
there  was  no  defined  road,  and  frequently  not  even  a  trail 
or  track  except  that  of  the  buffalo. 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


47 


From  the  Pawnee  village  the  march  was  resumed  to  Fort 
Laramie,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  River,  where  the 
invariable  custom  had  been  to  abandon  all  the  wagons  and 
transport  the  goods  by  packing  them  on  horses  and  mules. 
But  in  order  to  secure  greater  comfort  for  the  ladies,  Dr. 
Whitman,  at  his  urgent  request,  was  permitted  to  retain 
one  of  his  wagons,  and  the  Company  concluded  to  try  the 
experiment  of  taking  along  a  single  cart.  These  pioneer 
vehicles  were  placed  in  the  special  charge  of  Dr.  Whitman, 
who,  by  his  fertility  of  resource  and  indomitable  perse- 
verance, brought  them  through,  thus  demonstrating  the 
practicability  of  a  wagon  road  over  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
even  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Columbia  River.  This  was 
seven  years  before  General  Fremont's  celebrated  overland 
exploration  which  won  him  the  appellation  of  the  path- 
finder. 

The  party  having  arrived  at  what  was  known  then  as 
Rock  Independence,  word  was  sent  forward  into  the  moun- 
tains as  to  the  time  when  the  caravan  might  be  expected  at 
the  American  rendezvous  on  the  Green  River.  This  infor- 
mation brought  to  the  camp,  two  days  before  reaching  the 
river,  a  party  of  ten  Indians  and  four  white  men,  who  bore 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Parker,  informing  the  missionaries  of  his 
safe  arrival  at  Walla  Walla,  of  the  kindness  of  the  Indians 
to  him  and  their  apparent  friendliness  to  all  whites.  A 
day  later,  and  when  nearing  the  South  Pass — the  line  that 
divides  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  from  those  of  the  Pacific 
— the  mission  party  were  greeted  by  the  sight  of  a  company 
of  Nez  Perce  Indians  who  had  come  to  welcome  them,  in 
fulfillment  of  a  promise  made  to  Dr.  Whitman  the  previous 
year,  and  to  aid  them  in  their  journey.     The  chiefs  were 


1 


ii  1 1 


48 


T!hg  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


invited  to  partake  of  the  hospitality  of  the  missionaries, 
"and  here  began  the  friendship  of  that  nation,  that  bound 
it  to  the  American  people  and  government  through  all  the 
conflicts  of  subsequent  years." 

The  rendezvous  on  Green  River  was  to  all  intents  a  mili- 
tary camp,  so  constructed  as  to  protect  the  goods  and 
animals  from  thieves,  and  its  inmates  from  being  surprised 
by  any  sudden  attack  from  hostile  Indians.  Three  or  four 
hundred  rough  mountain  men  and  nearly  2000  Indians  were 
gathered  at  this  point.  Among  these  the  presence  of  the  two 
ladies  of  the  mission  party — the  first  to  brave  the  dangers 
of  an  overland  journey — was  a  great  novelty  and  appar- 
ently the  source  of  no  little  gratification. 

Here  the  missionaries  met  Captain  Wyeth,  who,  it  will 
be  remembered,  formed  the  escort  for  the  Methodist  mis- 
sionaries of  the  previous  year.  He  was  on  his  return  to 
the  States,  having  been  obliged  to  abandon  the  fur  business 
and  sell  his  improvements  at  Fort  Hall  to  Mr.  McLeod, 
the  chief  trader  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company — another 
instance  of  the  uniform  policy  of  that  Company  not  to  per- 
mit any  interference  with  its  monopoly.  While  the  mission 
party  were  treated  with  consideration  and  kindness  by  the 
agents  and  men  of  the  Company,  and  allowed  to  join  the 
caravan  in  its  onward  march  from  this  point,  its  members 
were  given  clearly  to  understand  that  the  Company  did  not 
desire  the  presence  of  the  mountain  men,  and  that  no 
encouragement  would  be  held  out  to  them  to  migrate  to 
Oregon.  If  manual  labor  was  needed  for  the  erection  of 
their  houses  or  any  other  improvements  at  the  contemplated 
mission  stations,  the  Company  preferred  to  furnish  it, 
rather  than  have  any  of  these  men  settle  in  the  country^ 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon, 


49 


Even  at  this  early  period  there  was  a  careful  scrutiny  of  all 
proposed  settlers  ;  as  many  being  excluded  as  possible. 

From  Green  River  the  route  of  travel  was  nearly  the 
same  as  the  great  overland  route  to  Bear  River  and  Soda 
Springs,  and  thence  through  the  spurs  of  the  mountains  to 
the  waters  of  Portneuf  and  to  Fort  Hall.  Here  all  baggage 
was  again  reduced  and  repacked,  and  Dr.  Whitman  was 
strongly  urged  to  abandon  his  wagon.  This  he  refused  to 
do,  but  compromised  by  reducing  the  wagon  to  two  wheels. 
Though  he  found  it  a  most  difficult  route  to  travel,  yet  he 
persevered  and  brought  his  cart  with  its  precious  load  safely 
to  its  destination. 

From  the  camp  on  Green  River,  where  a  rest  of  ten  days 
was  taken,  the  missionaries  traveled  under  the  escort  of  a 
Hudson  Bay  party  engaged  for  this  purpose.  After  leav- 
ing the  English  Fort  Hall,  they  reached  Salmon  Falls  on 
the  2d  of  August ;  thence  they  journeyed  to  Boise  Fort  and 
the  Grand  Ronde  River  and  over  the  Blue  Mountains  to 
the  Umatilla  River.  Descending  the  western  slope  of  the 
mountains,  they  beheld  the  great  valley  of  the  Columbia 
spread  out  before  them,  with  Mounts  Hood  and  Adams, 
and  the  high  peaks  of  the  Cascade  --a  ige  looming  up 
grandly  in  the  distance.  A  few  days  later,  in  September, 
1836,  a  little  more  than  four  months  from  the  time  they 
left  Missouri,  the  party  reached  Fort  Walla  Walla  on  the 
Columbia  River,  having  traveled,  as  they  estimated,  a  dis- 
tance of  2250  miles. 

Their  reception  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  was 
friendly.  At  the  fort,  too,  they  found  a  Mr.  Townsend, 
an  American  naturalist,  who  had  spent  two  years  in  that 
region.     From  him  they  received  not  only  many  kind- 


i! 


1  y 


: 


1!  i 


50 


Th^  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


nesses  but  much  'nformation  which  was  ot  great  service  to 
them  in  their  subsequ'^nt  intercourse  with  the  agents  of  the 
Company,  and  also  with  the  Indians.  His  advice  to  them 
was:  **The  Company  will  be  glad  to  have  you  in  the 
country,  and  your  influence  to  improve  their  native  wives 
and  children.  As  to  the  Indians  you  have  come  to  teach, 
they  do  not  want  them  to  be  any  more  enlightened.  The 
Company  now  has  absolute  control  over  them,  and  that 
is  all  they  require.  Should  the  Company  learn  from  Mr. 
Pambrun  [their  agent]  or  from  any  other  source  th  *•  you 
are  here  and  do  not  comply  with  their  regulatic  nd 
treatment  of  the  Indians,  they  will  cut  off  your  supi^iies, 
and  leave  you  to  perish  among  the  Indians  yju  are  here  to 
benefit." 

The  missiona'-ies  had  afterward  many  opportunities 
of  proving  the  correctness  of  this  judgment. 

Stopping  here  no  longer  than  was  required  for  rest 
and  to  prepare  for  the  next  stage  of  their  journey,  the  mis- 
sion party  took  boats  on  the  Columbia  River,  and  reached 
Fort  Vancouver  September  12,  1836.  On  the  way  they 
encountered  a  severe  wind  storm,  which  came  near  dashing 
the  boats  to  pieces,  and  compelled  them  to  remain  in  a 
miserable  camp  for  three  days  and  nights.  At  Vancouver, 
they  were  also  cordially  welcomed  by  the  representative  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  their  stay  of  a  fortnight 
was  made  as  pleasant  as  possible. 

At  the  earnest  advice  of  the  Company,  the  ladies  re- 
mained at  the  fort,  while  the  gentlemen  of  the  party  re- 
turned to  Walla  Walla  to  select  the  mission  stations  and  to 
build  houses  for  the  winter — the  governor  supplying  from 
the  Company's  stores  the  articles  needed  in  building,  and 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


51 


assuring  the  party  that  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  aid  them 
in  their  mission  work. 

At  this  period  there  were,  besides  the  projected  mission 
of  the  American  Board,  two  mission  stations  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  located  at  favorable  points  to  reach 
and  Christianize  other  tribes  of  Indians.  It  was  not  the 
purpose  of  the  respective  Boards  that  the  established  mis- 
sions or  the  one  about  to  be  established  should  be  in  any 
way  dependent  upon  the  ^  udson  Bay  Company  for  supplies, 
as  ample  provision  had  been  made  for  their  necessities 
until  such  times  as  they  could  raise  the  means  for  their  own 
subsistence.  This  of  necessity  engaged  the  first  attention 
of  the  newcomers,  and  with  the  supplies  forwarded  from  the 
East  they  were  soon  quite  independent  of  the  Company ; 
but  such  was  the  power  of  this  commercial  monopoly,  and 
so  iiiiportant  its  good  will,  that  our  missionaries  deemed 
it  expedient  to  accept  aid  when  it  was  proffered  them. 

In  choosing  locations  for  their  missions,  Messrs.  Whit- 
man and  Spalding  were  careful  not  to  interfere  with  the 
work  already  begun  by  their  Methodist  brethren.  By  win- 
ter they  had  their  buildings  ready  for  their  families — Dr. 
Whitman  at  Waiilatpu,  December,  1837,  among  the  Cayuse 
Indians,  and  Mr.  Spalding  at  Lapwai,  November,  1837,  on 
Clearwater  River,  among  the  Nez  Percys.  At  once  they 
began  their  arrangements  for  planting  their  gardens  and 
preparing  for  spring  crops,  setting  an  example  to  the 
Indians  by  their  industry  during  the  week,  and  on  the  Sab- 
bath giving  them  such  religious  instruction  as  they  were 
capable  of  imparting  with  their  then  imperfect  knowledge 
of  the  Indian  dialects.  The  wives  of  the  missionaries 
spent  a  large  part  of  their  time  in  teaching  the  children. 


5« 


The  Story  of  Marcus  WJiittnan, 


II  ■<  \ 


While  the  missionaries  were  thus  engaged  at  their  re- 
spective stations,  Mr.  Gray,  the  agent  of  the  mission,  was 
sent  to  Vancouver  to  procure  the  requisite  spring  supplies, 
and  to  make  necessary  preparations  for  his  return  to  the 
States  to  secure  assistance  for  the  mission.  In  both  respects 
he  was  successful.  The  American  Board  sent  back  with 
Mr.  Gray,  who  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  three  other 
missionaries  and  their  wives — Revs.  E.  Walker,  C.  Eells, 
and  A.  B.  Smith,  and  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Rogers, 
thus  making  an  addition  ot  eight  members  to  the  working 
force.  These  all  arrived  at  Dr.  Whitman's  station  in  Sep- 
tember, 1838.  The  mission  of  the  American  Board  now 
numbered  thirteen  in  all,  and  the  Met.xodist  mission  six- 
teen. The  latter  was  located  in  the  Willamette  Valley, 
with  an  out-station  at  the  Dalles ;  the  former  maintained 
three  stations  at  Waiilatpu,  Lapwai  and  at  Tshimakain.* 

Soon  after  the  reinforcement  of  the  American  Board's 
mission,  two  Jesuit  missionaries.  Revs.  F.  A.  Blanchet  and 
Demerse,  arrived  at  Walla  Walla  in  the  boats  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  making  Vancouver  their  headquarters, 
and  visiting  its  different  posts  and  stations  with  the  tran'j- 
portation  facilities  furnished  them  by  the  Company. 
Almost  at  once  the  Indians  began  to  exhibit  a  prejudice 
against  the  Protestant  missionaries.  The  priests  informed 
them  that  the  Protestants  were  not  teaching  a  true  religion  ; 
and  that  eventually  they  intended  to  take  their  lands  and 
property  from  them  and  occupy  the  country  themselves. 
Willing  assistance  was  lent  to  this  propaganda  by  the 
agents  ard  other  servants  of  the  Company,  some  of  whom 
became  catechists  to  the  Indians   in  the  interest  of  the 

"'Now  known  as  Walker's  Pmirie. 


fi'i 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


53 


Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  by  the  resident  half-breeds,  de- 
scendants of  Frenchmen  who  had  married  Indian  wives, 
and  who  were  bigoted  Romanists,  and  as  unscrupulous  as 
bigoted. 

Meanwhile  the  Protestant  missionaries  were  doing  all 
they  could  to  improve  both  the  material  and  the  spiritual 
condition  of  the  Indians — teaching  them  to  cultivate  their 
lands  and  occupy  them  permanently,  instructing  their 
children  from  books  already  prepared  in  the  Indian  tongue, 
and  on  the  Sabbath  inculcating  the  principles  of  the  gos- 
pel. In  their  annual  report  to  the  Board  at  Boston,  in 
1838,  the  missionaries  represent  the  Nez  Perce  language 
as  so  easy  of  acquisition  that,  within  four  or  five  months 
after  their  settlement  in  the  country,  they  were  able  to 
hold  intercourse  with  the  Indians  in  it  on  all  common 
topics;  and,  further,  that  "since  that  time  they  have 
formed  an  alphabet  and  prepared  a  small  elementary  hoc  k 
in  it;  other  books  are  in  a  state  of  preparation."  The 
same  report  stated  that  the  Indians  of  neighboring 
tribes  were  eager  for  missionaries,  and  that  Mr.  Gray  was 
sent  East  for  helpers,  the  opinion  of  the  mission  being 
that  fifty  missionaries  t'd  assistants  were  needed.  In 
1842  the  Missionary  J.  raid  said:  "A  second  book  in 
the  Nez  Perce  language,  of  fifty-six  pages,  has  been  pre- 
pared and  800  copies  printed."  A  printing  press  had 
been  procured  from  the  Hawaiian  Islands*  and  set  up, 
upon  which  the  small  books  required  for  the  schools  at 


m 


ii 


'*'  A  grift  from  Rev.  H.  Bingham's  church  at  Honolulu ;  with  materials 
acco  '^panyinK  it  was  worth  1^50.  Mr.  E.  O.  Hall,  a  printer,  came  along 
with  the  press,  and  that  fall  printed  in  the  Nez  Pcrc^  lan^age  the  first 
book  printed  west  of  the  R«^cky  Mountains, 


m 


m  :■)' 


I 


Pi  ill 


S>  S^  H 

lit  1 


I  ; 

t;  ' 


54 


7%<f  ^y^?;^  r?/"  Marcus  WJiitman. 


the  stations  were  printed,  and  these  were  gratuitously  dis- 
tributed to  all  who  were  willing  to  receive  them. 

The  Roman  Catholic  priests  in  the  meantime  did  all  in 
their  power  to  check  the.  influence  of  these  Protestant 
books  and  to  thwart  the  persistent  and  self-denying  labors 
of  the  missionaries.  Their  resort  was  to  pictures  osten- 
sibly setting  forth  the  great  danger  of  heretical  books  and 
teachings.  Other  forms  of  opposition  are  referred  to  by 
the  missionaries  in  their  reports  to  the  Board  at  Boston. 
Writing,  in  1840,  of  the  Romish  priests  who  came  from 
Canada,  they  say:  "Their  avowed  object  was  to  minister 
to  the  Canadian  Papists  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company.  But  having  been  furnished  with  interpreters 
and  facilities  for  traveling,  they  visited  Fort  Colville  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  the  next  year  and  subsequently  went 
down  to  Walla  Walla,  where  they  assembled  the  Indians, 
spoke  against  the  missionaries,  said  that  themselves  were 
the  only  men  of  God  in  the  country,  and  persuaded  a 
number  of  the  Indians  to  receive  baptism  from  them." 
Again,  the  annual  report  for  1844  states  that  *'the  papal 
teachers  and  other  opposers  of  the  mission  appear  to  have 
succeeded  in  making  them  [the  Indians]  believe  that  the 
missionaries  ought  to  furnish  them  with  food  and  clothing 
and  supply  all  their  wants.  Hence  they  make  this  claim 
and  are  jealous  and  faultfinding." 

From  this  time  forward  there  **was  also  a  marked 
change  in  the  feelings  of  most  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Company"  toward  the  Protestant  missionaries;  nor  is  it 
difficult  to  assign  a  sufficient  cause  for  this  change  if  we 
bear  in  mind  the  paramount  and  controlling  purpose  of 
the  Company.     If  the  Indians  became  Christianized  and 


■flF— ^S^BM 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


55 


settled  down  and  tilled  their  lands,  they  could  not  be 
utilized  in  catching  the  fur  animals  and  thus  add  to  the 
profits  of  its  business.  Hence,  as  a  matter  of  policy  en- 
tirely consonant  with  such  a  purpose,  its  agents  favored 
the  priests,  who  were  subservient  to  its  wishes  and  who 
contented  themselves  with  teaching  the  Indians  from  a 
catechism  for  a  few  days  or  weeks  at  most,  sprinkling 
them  with  holy  water  and  then  passing  on  to  another 
place,  to  go  through  the  same  ceremonies,  all  of  which 
left  the  Indians  the  vagabond  wanderers  they  had  been 
from  the  beginning,  dependent  for  a  living  upon  the  chase 
and  their  traps. 

The  jealousy  and  unfriendliness  of  which  we  have  just 
spoken  was  not  exhibited  toward  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries alone,  but  towar'  all  persons  wishing  to  settle  in  and 
improve  the  country,  an<l  esjiecially  to  Americans.  Even 
a  party  of  forty  English,  Scoi  h  and  Canadian-French 
families  who  immigrated  in  1841  from  the  P  d  River  set- 
tlement, having  been  invited  to  locate  in  the  Puget  Sound 
district  by  the  governor  of  the  Company  in  order  to  con- 
trol and  outnumber  the  American  settlers,  complained  bit- 
terly of  the  treatment ;  and  the  more  intelligent  of  the 
number  removed  to  other  districts  so  as  to  be  ♦"O  longer 
subject  to  the  arbitrary  and  oppressive  regulations  of  the 
Company. 

The  conflicting  interests  of  tlie  Hudson  Bay  Company 
md  the  actual  settlers  led  at  times  to  hostilities  between 
the  Americans  and  such  Indians  as  were  wholly  under  the 
influence  of  the  Company's  agents,  and  resulted  in  the 
destruction  of  property  and  the  massacre  of  a  number  of 
the  whites.     It  was  publicly  charged  at  the  time  that  the 


n 


|; 


; 


i 


I; 
t  i 


i 


56 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


Indians  were  incited  by  the  Company's  employes  to  plun- 
der and  "  murder  all  outside  venturers  upon  their  trading 
localities,"  the  whites  being  regarded  in  all  instances  as 
the  aggressors.  **It  has  always  been  the  policy  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,"  says  Hines*  Oregoriy*  "to  mo- 
nopolize the  trade  of  those  immense  regions  in  North 
America.  Another  feature  of  the  policy  of  the  Company 
is  the  course  they  have  pursued  in  relation  to  the  colon- 
izing of  the  country.  They  have  always  been  opposed  to 
its  settlement  by  any  people  except  such  as,  by  a  strict 
subjection  to  the  Company,  would  become  subservient  to 
their  wishes.  They  wished  to  preserve  the  arable  land 
for  their  superannuated  employes,  whom  they  kept  under 
their  absolute  control,  and  wanted  to  retain  them  where 
they  could  use  them  to  advantage."  The  same  writer 
speaks  of  the  inactlv'ity  of  business  by  reason  of  "the 
domineering  policy  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company." 

Like  testimony  is  given  in  Gray's  History  of  Oregon  :'\ 
"The  unparalleled  energy  and  success  attending  the  efforts 
of  the  missionaiicG  crxiong  these  two  powerful  migratory 
tribes  (Cayuses  and  Nez  Perces)  excited  the  jealousy  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  caused  them  to  encourage  the 
Jesuits  to  come  to  the  country  and  locate  themselves  im- 
mediately in  the  vicinity  of  those  missirns,  and  use  every 
possible  influence  to  dissuade  the  Indians  from  attending 
the  missionary  schools,  cultivating  their  little  farms  or  at- 
tending in  the  leasi:  to  any  instruction,  except  such  as  was 
given  by  the  priests,  when  they  came  to  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  posts  for  trade.     The  Jesuit  missionary  teach- 

*  Pp.  385. 386. 


I 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


57 


ing  did  not  interfere  with  the  roving  and  hunting  life  of 
the  Indians,  while  the  plan  of  settling  and  civilizing  them 
proposed,  and  in  a  measure  carried  out,  by  the  American 
missionaries  did  directly  interfere  with  the  Company's  fur 
trappers  and  hunters.  Every  Indian  that  became  a  settler 
or  farmer  had  no  occasion  to  hunt  for  furs  to  get  his  sup- 
plies." 

Another  valuable  witness  is  Mr.  Swan,  who  says :  *  "The 
officers  of  the  Company  also  sympathized  with  their  serv- 
ants, and  a  deadly  feeling  of  hatred  has  existed  between 

these  officers  and  the  American  immigrants There 

is  not  a  man  among  them  who  would  not  be  glad  to  have 
had  every  American  immigrant  driven  out  of  the  country." 
•  Swan's  Wwla,  p.  381. 


I 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PROTESTANT   MISSIONS  IN  OREGON,    CONTINUED. 

DURING  all  this  period,  and  up  to  the  year  1842,  the 
missionaries  of  the  American  Board  were  prosecut- 
ing their  work  with  commendable  fidelity,  and,  consider- 
ing the  unfavorable  influences  which  they  were  obliged  to 
encounter,  with  remarkable  success. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year  1839,  the  Indians  gathered  in 
great  numbers  around  the  mission  stations  then  occupied, 
and  manifested  remarkable  docility,  both  in  receiving  re- 
ligious instruction  and  in  adopting  the  habits  of  civilized 


The  Missionary  Herald  oi  1842,  represents  the  mission 
as  prosperous,  the  schools  as  large,  and  the  people  as 
attending  regularly  on  religious  instruction.  But  reference 
is  made  in  the  Annual  Report  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  some 
of  the  Indians,  which  interfered  with  the  prosperity  of  the 
mission,  and  tended  to  the  suspension  of  the  work  of  grace 
that  had  so  largely  prevailed.  "  The  Indians  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  sta'ion  (Waiila-pu),  instigated  by  a  papal  Indian 
of  one  of  the  tribes  east  of  the  mountains,  had  treated  Dr. 
Whitman  and  Mr.  Gray  with  a  good  deal  of  insolence  and 
abuse,  destroying  sorne  property,  and  demanding  payiuent 
for  the  land,  timber,  fuel,  and  water  which  the  missionaries 
used,  and  threatening  to  drive  them  from  the  country.' 

5^ 


M 


MM 


■ 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


59 


<( 


About  this  time  two  Romish  priests*  arrived  from 
Canada,  and  began  to  travel  extensively  among  the  In- 
dians, and  to  baptize  some  of  them ;  and  by  introducing 
the  papal  ceremonies,  and  by  misrepresentations,  seemed 
likely  to  interfere  to  some  extent  with  the  success  of  the 
mission."  Still  "the  Indians  were  generally  favorably 
disposed,  and  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  families  were 
located  and  cultivating  the  land." 

Equally  emphatic  evidence  is  borne  by  Mr.  Gray,  who, 
as  secular  agent  of  the  mission,  had  every  opportunity  for 
ascertaining  all  the  facts.  He  says,  "  Before  I  left  the 
Whitman  station  in  1842,  there  were  322  Indian  families 
among  the  Cay  use  and  Nez  Perc6  tribes  tb'.t  had  com- 
menced to  cultivate,  and  were  beginning  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  their  little  farms.  About  100  of  them  were  talking 
about  locating,  and  were  looking  for  places  and  material 
for  building  themselves  r  lure  permanent  houses.  We  have 
never  doubted  for  a  moment  that  the  Cayuse,  Nez  Perc6, 
and  Spokan  tribes  would  in  twenty-five  years  from  the  time 
the  missions  of  the  American  Board  were  located  among 
them  (if  let  alone  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and 
Romish  priests),  have  become  a  civilized,  industrious,  and 
happy  Christian  people,  ready  to  enter  as  honorable  r.nd 
intelligent  citizens  of  aur  American  republic."  f 

The  English  h""  .  possession  of  Oregon  at  this  time  as 
traders  and  settlers,  and  by  their  representations  and  well- 
laid  plans  weire  doing  ^11  they  could  to  discourage  immi- 
gration from  the  Eastern  States.  As  intelligent  and  obser- 
vant persons,  the  American  missionaries  could  not  fail  to 

'I'  Messrs.  Blanchet  and  Demerse. 
t  Gray's  'y^<<»*y  0/ Orcflron,  7J.  578. 


v.. 


V. 


n 


, 


6o 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


hi 


discern  their  purposes;  nor  could  they  be  expected,  as 
patriots,  to  look  on  indifferently  while  another  nation  was 
endeavoring  to  acquire  possession  of  this  valuable  territory 
by  actual  occupation. 

That  such  was  the  English  policy  became  more  and  more 
apparent  to  all  Americans,  and  particularly  to  so  careful 
and  mterested  an  observer  as  Dr.  Whitman,  who  was  soon 
convinced  that  the  best  if  not  the  only  way  to  frustrate  the 
scheme,  was  to  induce  a  still  larger  immigration  of  settlers 
from  the  United  States  to  Oregon  than  could  possibly  be 
introduced  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  with  the  coop- 
eration of  Sir  George  Simpson,  the  governor.  His  con- 
victions on  this  subject  were  greatly  strengthened  during  a 
professional  visit  which  he  paid  in  September,  1842,  to 
Fort  Walla  Walla.  Here  he  met  at  dinner  the  officers  of 
the  fort,  a  number  of  the  chief  traders  of  the  Company, 
and  some  Jesuit  priests  who  had  recently  arrived  and  were 
on  their  way  to  the  interior.  While  the  party  were  at  table 
an  express  messenger  arrived,  bringing  news  that  a  large 
colony  of  immigrants  from  the  Red  River  country  had 
succeeded  in  crossing  the  mountains,  and  were  at  Fort  Col- 
ville,  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  up  the  Columbia. 
This  announcement  was  hailed  with  great  joy  by  most  of 
those  present,  one  young  priest  becoming  so  enthusiastic 
that  he  sprang  to  his  feet  with  the  cry :  **  Hurrah  for  Ore- 
gon !  America  is  too  late  !  We  have  got  the  country !" 

All  that  Dr.  Whitman  saw  and  heard  during  his  stay  at  the 
fort  but  served  to  convince  him  more  fully  that  the  Com- 
pany had  not  only  invited  these  Red  River  Scotch  and  En- 
glish immigrants  and  arranged  for  them  to  come  and  settle 
in  Oregon,  but  that  a  further  part  of  the  plan  was  to  have 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


6i 


Governor  Simpson  visit  Washington  and  secure  a  final  dis- 
position of  the  question  of  the  boundaries,  on  the  basis  of 
the  most  numerous  and  permanent  settlements  in  the  coun- 
try. He  at  once  resolved  to  prevent  the  execution  of  this 
scheme.  It  took  him  only  a  few  hours  to  reach  his  own 
station,  and  before  dismounting  from  his  horse  he  briefly 
sketched  the  English  plot  to  his  brethren  of  the  mission, 
ending  with  the  announcement :  "I  am  going  to  cross  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  reach  Washington  this  winter,  God 
carrying  me  through,  and  bring  out  an  immigration  over 
the  mountains  next  season,  or  this  country  is  lost." 

His  associates,  when  they  had  recovered  from  their  sur- 
prise, proceeded  to  point  out  the  great  perils  of  such  a 
winter  journey  of  five  or  six  months,  from  cold,  starvation, 
or  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  savages,  but  his  resolution 
could  not  be  shaken.  Within  tv.enty-four  hours  he  started, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  A.  L.  Lcvejoy,  who  had  recently 
arrived  at  Waiilatpu  with  the  immigration  of  that  year. 
They  took  a  circuitous  route  by  way  of  Fort  Hall,  Taos 
and  Sante  Fe,  and  thence  to  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkansas 
River.  Here  Mr.  Lovejoy  stopped  for  the  winter,  having 
become  exhausted  from  toil  and  exposure,  while  Dr.  Whit- 
man, in  spite  of  intense  suffering  from  snow-storms,  ex- 
treme cold  and  lack  of  food,  continued  until  he  reached 
St.  Louis  in  February,  1843.  Thence  he  made  his  way  to 
Washington,  arriving  on  the  3d  of  March,  precisely  five 
months  from  the  time  of  starting. 

No  account  of  this  journey  was  left  by  Dr.  Whitman, 
and  in  our  day  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  compre- 
hend the  perils  and  privations  of  such  an  undertaking.  As 
an  indication  of  its  many  exigencies,  we  subjoin  thrilling 


\\ 


62 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


incidents  from  the  narrative  of  the  journey,  compiled  by 
Rev.  H.  H.  Spalding  from  statements  subsequently  made 
by  Dr.  Whitman  and  Mr.  Lovejoy : 

**0n  that  terrible  13th  of  January,  1843,  when  so  many 
in  all  parts  of  our  country  froze  to  death,  the  Doctor, 
against  the  advice  of  his  Mexican  guide,  left  his  camp  in  a 
deep  gorge  of  the  mountains  of  New  Mexico,  in  the  morn- 
ing, to  pursue  his  journey.  But  on  reaching  the  divide,  the 
cold  becoming  so  intense,  and  the  anin;''ls  becoming  actually 
maddened  by  the  driving  snows,  the  Doctor  saw  his  peril, 
and  attempted  to  retrace  his  steps,  and,  if  possible,  to  find 
his  camp,  as  the  only  hope  of  saving  their  lives.  But  the 
drifting  snow  had  totally  obliterated  every  trace,  and  the 
air  becoming  almost  as  dark  as  night  by  the  maddening 
storm,  the  Doctor  saw  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  any 
human  being  to  find  camp,  and,  commending  himself  and 
his  distant  wife  to  his  covenant- keeping  God,  he  gave  him- 
self, his  faithful  guide,  and  animals,  up  to  their  snowy  grave, 
which  was  fast  closing  about  them.  Suddenly  the  guide, 
observing  the  ears  of  one  of  the  mules  intently  bent  for- 
ward, sprang  upon  him,  giving  him  the  reins,  exclaiming, 
*  This  mule  will  find  the  camp  if  he  can  live  to  reach  it.' 
The  Doctor  mounted  another,  and  followed.  The  faithful 
animal  kept  down  the  divide  a  short  distance,  and  then 
turned  square  down  the  steep  mountain.  Through  deep 
snowdrifts,  over  frightful  precipices,  down,  down,  he 
pushed,  unguided  and  unurged,  as  if  he  knew  that  the  lives 
of  the  two  men  and  the  fate  of  the  great  expedition  de- 
pended upon  his  endurance  and  his  faithfulness.  Entering 
the  thick  timber  he  stopped  suddenly  over  a  bare  spot,  and 
as  the  Doctor  dismounted — the  Mexican  was  too  far  gone — 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


«j 


he  beheld  the  very  fireplace  of  their  morning  camp  !  Two 
brands  of  fire  were  yet  alive  and  smoking,  and  plenty  of 
timber  in  reach.  The  buffalo  hides  had  done  much  to 
protect  the  Doctor,  and  providentially  he  could  move 
about  and  collect  dry  limbs,  and  soon  had  a  rousing  fire. 
The  guide  revived,  but  both  he  and  the  Doctor  were  badly 
frozen.  They  remained  in  this  secluded  hole  in  the  moun- 
tains several  days,  till  the  cold  and  the  storm  abated. 

*'  At  another  time,  with  another  guide,  on  the  head- waters 
of  the  Arkansas,  after  traveling  all  day  in  a  terrible  storm, 
they  reached  a  small  river  for  camp,  but  without  a  stick  of 
wood  anywhere  to  be  had  except  on  the  other  side  of  the 
stream,  which  was  covered  with  ice  too  thin  to  support  a 
man  erect.  The  storm  cleared  away,  and  the  night  bid 
fair  to  be  intensely  cold ;  besides,  they  must  have  fire  to 
prepare  bread  and  food.  The  Doctor  took  his  axe  in  one 
hand  and  a  willow  stick  in  the  other,  laid  himself  upon 
the  thin  ice,  and  spreading  his  legs  and  arms,  he  worked 
himself  over  on  his  breast,  cut  his  wood  and  slid  it  over, 
and  returned  in  the  same  way. 

"That  was  the  last  time  the  Doctor  enjoyed  thfc  luxury 
of  his  axe — so  indispensable  at  that  season  of  the  year,  in 
such  a  country.  That  night  a  wolf  poked  his  nose  under 
the  foot  of  the  bed  where  the  axe  had  been  placed  for  safe- 
keeping, and  took  it  off  for  a  leather  string  that  was 
wrapped  around  the  split  helye." 

Mr.  Lovejoy,  the  companion  of  Dr.  Whitman,  has  given 
an  account  of  their  perilous  trip  from  Fort  Hall  to  Fort 
Bent.  In  it  he  vividly  describes  their  terrible  sufferings 
from  cold  and  snow,  when  crossing  the  mountains  : 

**  From  Fort  Hall  to  Fort  Uintah  we  met  with  terribly 


64 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Wfittman. 


! 


severe  weather.  The  deep  snows  caused  vz  to  lose  much 
time.  Here  we  took  a  new  guide  for  Fort  Uncompahgre, 
on  Grand  River,  in  Spanish  country.  Passing  over  high 
mountains,  we  encountered  a  terrible  snow-storm,  that 
compelled  us  to  seek  shelter  in  a  dark  defile,  and  although 
we  made  several  attempts,  we  were  detained  some  ten  days. 
When  we  got  upon  the  mountains  we  wandered  for  days, 
until  the  guide  declared  he  was  lost,  and  would  take  us  no 
further.  This  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  Doctor,  but  he 
determined  not  to  give  up,  and  went  back  to  the  Fort  for 
another  guide,  I  remaining  with  the  horses,  feeding  them 
on  cotton-wood  bark.  The  seventh  day  he  returned.  We 
reached,  as  our  guide  informed  us,  Grand  River,  600  yards 
wide,  which  was  frozen  on  either  side  about  one-third. 
The  guide  regarded  it  too  dangerous  to  cross ;  but  the 
Doctor,  nothing  daunted,  was  the  first  to  take  the  water. 
He  mounted  his  horse,  and  the  guide  and  I  pushed  them 
off  the  ice  into  the  boiling,  foaming  stream.  Away  they 
went,  completely  under  water,  horse  and  all,  but  directly 
came  up,  and  after  buffeting  the  waves  and  foaming  cur- 
rent, made  for  the  ice  on  the  opposite  side,  a  long  way 
down  the  stream.  The  Doctor  leaped  upon  the  ice  and 
soon  had  his  noble  animal  by  his  side.  The  guide  and  I 
forced  in  the  pack  animals,  and  followed  the  Doctor's  ex- 
ample, and  were  soon  drying  our  frozen  clothes  by  a  com- 
fortable fire. 

*'  We  reached  Taos  in  about  thirty  days.  We  suffered 
from  intense  cold,  and  from  want  of  food  were  compelled 
to  use  the  flesh  of  dogs,  mules,  or  such  other  animals  as 
came  within  our  reach.  We  remained  about  fifteen  days, 
and  left  for  Bent's  Fort,  which  we  reached  January  3d. 


Protesiaft  Missions  in  Oregon. 


«5 


The  Doctor  left  there  on  the  yth,  at  w  hich  time  we  parted, 
and  I  did  not  meet  him  again  till  in  July,  above  Laramie, 
on  his  way  to  Oregon  with  a  train  of  emigrants." 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  an  account  of  the  object  of 
Dr.  Whitman's  visit  to  the  East,  and  of  his  personal 
appearance  on  his  arrival  at  St.  Louis,  from  the  pen  of 
Rev.  William  Barrows,  D.D.,  who  chanced  to  be  a  guest  in 
the  same  house :  * 

"The  announcement  of  the  man  in  the  little  city  of 
twenty  thousand  came  as  a  surprise  and  a  novelty.  In 
those  times  it  was  a  rare  possibility  for  one  to  come  up  in 
midwinter  from  Bent's  Fort  or  Santa  F6,  much  more  from 
Fort  Hall  and  the  Columbia.  The  Rocky  Mountain  men, 
trappers  and  traders,  the  adventurers  in  New  Mexico,  and 
the  contractors  for  our  military  posts,  gathered  about  Dr. 
Whitman  for  fresh  news  from  those  places  of  interest 

*'  But  the  Doctor  was  in  great  haste,  and  could  not  delay 
to  talk  of  beaver,  and  Indian  goods,  and  wars,  and  reser- 
vations, and  treaties.  He  had  questions,  not  answers. 
Was  the  Ashburton  treaty  concluded  ?  Did  it  cover  the 
Northwest?  Where,  and  what,  and  whose  did  it  leave 
Oregon?  ....  Then  he  had  other  questions  for  his  St. 
Louis  visitors.  Was  the  Oregon  question  under  discussion 
in  Congress?  Would  anything  important  be  settled  be- 
fore the  adjournment  on  the  4th  of  March?  Could  he 
reach  Washington  before  the  adjournment?  He  must 
leave  at  once,  and  he  went." 

The  Doctor,  according  to  the  same  account,  '*  was  of 
medium  height,  more  compact  than  spare,  with  a  stout 
shoulder,  and  la-^c  head  not  much  above  it,  covered  with 

•  Oregon,  p.  174. 


66 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


I 


stiff,  iron-gray  hair,  while  his  face  carried  all  the  moustache 
and  whiskers  that  four  months  had  been  able  to  put  upon 
it."  His  dress  consisted  of  "coarse  fur  garments  and 
vesting,  and  buckskin  breeches.  He  wore  a  buffalo  coat, 
with  a  head-hood  for  emergencies  in  taking  a  storm  or  a 
bivouac  nap.  .  What  with  heavy  fur  leggings  and  boot- 
moccasins,  his  legs  filled  up  well  his  Mexican  stirrups.  If 
memory  is  not  at  fault  with  me,  his  entire  dress  when  on 
the  street  did  not  show  one  square  inch  of  woven  fabric." 

Dr.  Whitman  regarded  his  business  as  of  so  much  import- 
ance that  he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  give  more  than  a 
few  days  to  needed  rest,  or  to  the  courtesies  pressed  upon 
him.  He  must  hasten  to  Washington,  lest  delay  jeopardize 
the  object  of  his  journey.  Parting  from  his  friends  at  St» 
Louis,  he  took  stage  for  the  seat  of  government,  which  he 
reached  on  the  3d  of  March,  1S43,  ^"^  soon  secured  an 
interview  with  the  President  and  other  public  men. 

I  am  aware  tuat  some  writers  have  endeavored  to  con- 
vince the  public  that  the  chief  object  of  Dr.  Whitman's 
winter  journey  to  the  East  was  not  to  induce  immigration 
to  Oregon  nor  to  convey  such  information  to  our  govern- 
ment as  was  needed  in  order  to  settle  aright  the  question  of 
boundaries  between  Great  ^ritain  and  the  United  States. 
They  claim  that  his  main  purpose  was  to  visit  Boston,  in 
order  to  induce  the  American  Board  to  countermand  an 
order  sent  out  that  year  on  account  of  the  hostile  disposi- 
tion shown  by  a  few  Indians,  discontinuing  two  of  the  sta- 
tions, and  thus  concentrating  the  missionaries  for  greater 
safety ;  and  in  confirmation  they  adduce  the  fact  that  his 
missionary  associates  met  together  in  order  to  discuss  this 
very  question  the  lijO.  th  previous  to  his  leaving  for  the  East. 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


«7 


We  know  of  no  better  way  of  getting  at  the  impelling 
motive  in  this  case  than  from  the  testimony  of  those  who 
were  co-laborers  of  Dr.  Whitman  at  the  time,  and  who 
heard  from  his  own  lips  his  reasons  for  the  journey.  These 
all  unite  in  stating  that  his  main  object  was  to  save  to 
the  United  States  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains; ^\\2X  he  went  to  Washington  before  he  visited  Bos- 
ton, and  that  he  obtained  a  promise  from  officers  of  the 
government  that  the  pending  negotiations  respecting  the 
boundary  line  should  not  be  concluded  until  it  could  be 
shown  whether  or  not  his  proposed  immigration  could 
reach  the  Columbia  River  with  their  animals  and  wagons. 

Of  the  meeting  at  Waiilatpu,  Rev.  Gushing  Eells,  an 
associate  missionary,  who  was  present,  gives  the  following 
account:  "The  mission  was  called  together  to  consider 
whether  or  not  their  approval  would  be  given  to  the  pro- 
posed undertaking — Dr.  Whitman's  unyielding  purpose  to 
go  east,  which  he  had  formed.  At  the  commencement 
there  was  decided  opposition,  which  yielded  only  when  it 
became  evident  he  would  go.  According  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  members  of  the  mission,  the  all-controlling 
object  of  Dr.  Whitman  was  to  make  a  desperate  effort  to 
save  this  country  to  the  United  States."  The  same  writer 
adds  that,  satisfied  of  the  movement  of  the  English  to  gain 
possession  of  the  country  by  the  introduction  of  actual  set- 
tlers, and  learning  from  Mr.  Lovejoy,  who  arrived  with  the 
immigrants  of  this  year,  somewhat  of  the  condition  of 
Oregon  matters  at  Washington,  "  Dr.  Whitman  saw  that  one 
way  to  counteract  this  movement  was  to  induce  a  still 
larger  immigration  of  Americans  to  come  to  the  country. 
He  also  proposed  to  attend  to  business  connected  with  the 


% 


ikll 


68 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


mission,  though  this  was  a  subordinate  affair,  and  it  alone 
would  not  have  induced  him  to  go  east." 

This  evidence,  confirmed  as  it  is  by  the  testimony  of 
other  members  of  the  conference,  must  prove  conclusive  to 
every  candid  mind,  and  settle  this  question,  which  indeed 
has  only  been  raised  within  a  few  years  and  since  most  of 
the  participants  in  the  stirring  scenes  have  passed  away. 

At  Washington,  Dr.  Whitman  obtained  an  early  hearing 
from  the  chief  officers  of  the  government.  He  still  wore 
his  strange  attire  of  buffalo  and  buckskin,  and  the  evidences 
on  his  person  of  the  sufferings  he  had  endured  from  cold 
and  hunger  helped  to  impress  all  he  met  with  his  sincerity 
and  earnestness.  President  Tyler,  on  his  tendering  some 
credentials,  is  said  to  have  remarked :  "  Dr.  Whitman, 
your  frozen  face  and  general  appearance  are  all  the  evidence 
I  want  that  you  have  just  arrived  from  Oregon." 

That  his  presence  in  Washington  was  opportune,  that  the 
information  which  he  brought  relative  to  our  possessions  on 
the  Pacific  was  most  valuable,  cannot  be  questioned.  Sun- 
dry ill-informed  and  injudicious  friends,  however,  since  his 
death,  have  made  unwarranted  claims  as  to  the  influence 
he  exerted  upon  the  questions  then  under  consideration, 
respecting  the  boundary  line  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
They  are  at  fault  not  only  as  to  dates,  but  as  to  the  treaties 
themselves ;  and  they  attribute  motives  and  acts  to  Daniel 
Webster  which  he  expressly  repudiated,  and  to  which  he 
could  not  have  been  a  party.  For  example,  a  writer  in  the 
Ne^v  York  Evening  Post  says:  **We  presume  it  is  not 
generally  known  how  near  we  came  to  losing,  through  ex- 
ecutive incompetence,  our  just  title  to  the  whole  immense 
re^jion  lying  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.     Neither  has 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


69 


due  honor  been  accorded  to  the  brave  and  patriotic  man 
(Dr.  Whitman)  through  whose  herculean  exertions  this  great 
loss  and  sacrifice  was  prevented. 

"Reaching  Washington,  he  sought  an  interview  with 
President  Tyler  and  Daniel  Webster,  then  Secretary  of 
State,  and  unfolded  to  them  distinctly  what  was  going  on. 
Here  he  learned  that  a  treaty  was  almost  ready  to  be  signed, 
in  which  all  this  northwestern  territory  was  to  be  given  up 
to  England,  and  we  were  to  have  in  compensation  greater 
facilities  in  catching  fish.  Dr.  Whitman  labored  to  con- 
vince Mr.  Webster  that  he  was  the  victim  of  false  represen- 
tations with  regard  to  the  character  of  the  region,  and  told 
him  he  intended  to  return  to  Oregon  with  a  train  of  immi- 
grants. Mr.  Webster,  looking  him  fully  in  the  eye,  asked  him 
if  he  would  pledge  himself  to  conduct  a  train  of  immigrants 
there  in  wagons.  He  promised  that  he  would.  *Then,* 
said  Mr.  Webster,  *  this  treaty  shall  be  suppressed.'  Dr. 
Whitman,  in  coming  on,  had  fixed  upon  certain  rallying- 
pomts  where  immigrants  might  assemble  to  accompany 
him  on  his  return.  He  found  nearly  1000  ready  for  the 
journey.  After  long  travel,  they  reached  Fort  Hall,  a 
British  military  station,  and  the  commandant  undertook  to 
frighten  the  immigrants  by  telling  them  that  it  was  not 
possible  for  them  to  go  through  with  wagons  •.  but  Dr. 
Whitman  rea.ssured  them,  and  led  them  thrc  ^  to  the 
Columbia,  and  the  days  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  were  numbered."* 

In  Gray's  History  of  Oregon  we  find  the  statement :  "  It 
(the  Ashburton  treaty)  was  nearly  ready  to  be  signed,  but 

*ThiB  treaty  was  concluded  in  August,  1S42,  and  related  exclusively  to 
the  boundary  line  east  of  thct  Rocky  Mountains. 


70 


Tlie  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


|!|i; 


I 


5 


Dr.  Whitman  made  such  representations  respecting  the 
value  of  the  country,  and  its  accessibility,  that  Mr.  Web- 
ster promised  the  treaty  should  be  suppressed  if  the  Doctor 
would  conduct  a  caravan  through  to  Oregon  on  his  return 
journey ;  which  he  engaged  to  do,  and  had  already  made 
his  arrangements  for  doing. '  * 

As  late  as  1879,  ^  writer  in  the  Atlantic  Monthfy  said : 
"  Mr.  Webster  was  at  one  time  disposed  to  cede  the  valley 
of  the  Columbia  River  for  the  free  right  to  fish  on  the 
British  colonial  coasts  of  the  North  Atlantic,  Governor 
Simpson  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  having  represented 
Oregon  as  worthless  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  only 
valuable  for  its  furs.  Just  then  Dr.  Whitman  arrived  at 
Washington  to  plead  for  the  retention  of  Oregon.  '  But 
you  a:e  too  late,  Doctor,'  said  Mr.  Webster,  'for  we  are 
about  to  trade  off  Oregon  for  the  cod  fisheries. '  The  Doc- 
tor soon  convinced  the  Secretary  of  State,  however,  that 
the  valley  of  th*^  Columbia  was  of  great  value,  and  it  was 
retained." 

Similar  statement^'  have  been  made  by  other  writers, 
notably  in  the  Con^iregationalist  of  Boston,  and  in  the 
Ladies^  Repository  for  1868,  by  Rev.  H.  K.  Hines,  of  Fort 
Vancouver,  Washington  Territory ;  but  we  are  confident 
they  cannot  be  substantiated. 

The  real  facts  seem  to  be  that  Dr.  Whitman  made  this  re- 
markable journey  in  the  winter  of  1842-43,  reaching  Wash- 
ington, March  3,  1843.  The  Ashburton  treaty  was  con- 
cluded in  August,  1842,  and  had  reference  only  to  the 
boundary  line  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  extending 
from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  Mr. 
Robert  Greenhow,  in  his  history  of  Oregon  and  California, 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon. 


7x 


says :  "  No  allusion  was  made  to  any  portion  of  the  conti- 
nent west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains."* 

President  Tyler  sent  a  message  to  Congress,  December  7, 
1842,  in  which  he  urged  that  every  effort  should  be  resorted 
to  by  the  two  governments  to  settle  their  respective  claims. 
It  was  left  out  of  the  treaty  of  1842,  because  it  would  lead 
to  a  protracted  discussion,  and  prejudice  other  more  press- 
ing matters.  Mr.  Greenhow  further  states,  that  "  nothing 
was  said  on  that  subject  (Oregon)  in  the  British  Parliament 
before  1843."  ^^r-  Whitman's  representations  to  Mr. 
Webster  could  not,  therefore,  have  influenced  the  terms  of 
the  Ashburton  treaty,  however  greatly  they  may  have 
enlightened  our  statesmen  as  to  the  value  of  our  Pacific 
coast  possessions. 

The  northwestern  boundary  line  was  settled  by  Secretary 
Buchanan  and  Hon.  Richard  Packenham,  in  June,  1846, 
Negotiations  were  commenced  in  August,  1844,  when  Hon. 
John  C.  Calhoun  had  charge  of  the  State  Department. 
Great  excitement  was  caused  by  our  claims  to  the  territory 
as  far  as  54°  40'  north  latitude,  and  it  was  feared  that  a 
war  would  be  the  consequence. 

While  Mr.  Webster  did  not  negotiate  this  treaty,  he  was 
familiar  with  all  the  questions  relative  to  the  boundary  line 
between  the  two  countries  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
They  had  been  under  discussion  during  his  term  of  office. 
This  is  clear  from  President  Tyler's  message  already  re- 
ferred to,  and  from  the  correspondence  of  Lord  Ashburton 
with  Mr.  Webster  in  July,  1842,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
writes :  "  There  is  a  further  question  of  disputed  boundary 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  called  the 

•P.  78. 


I 


i 


72 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


northwest  boundary,  about  which  we  have  had  some  confer- 
ences." 

Now  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  Dr.  Whitman's 
representations,  and  particularly  his  success  in  safely  con- 
ducting nearly  looo  immigrants,  with  their  200  wagons, 
across  the  mountains  to  the  Columbia  River  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1843,  ^^'^  ^  v^ry  important  and  confirmatory  in- 
fluence upon  Mr.  Webster  and  all  other  public  men  of  that 
time.  That  they  were  in  need  of  such  information  as 
Dr.  Whitman  was  capable  of  imparting  may  be  seen  from 
Mr.  Webster's  speech  in  the  Senate,  April,  1846,  in  de- 
fense of  the  Ashburton  treaty  of  1842,  which  had  been 
bitterly  assailed:  "We  hs.ve  heard  a  great  deal  lately," 
says  Mr.  Webster,  "of  the  immense  value  and  importance 
of  the  Columbia  River  fmd  its  navigation;  but  I  will 
undertake  to  say  that,  for  all  purposes  of  human  use,  the 
St.  John  is  worth  a  hundred  times  as  much  as  the  Colum- 
bia is  or  ever  will  be." 

While  the  above  extract  shows  that  Mr.  Webster  had  no 
proper  conception  as  to  the  future  valne  of  our  possessions 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  there  is  no  evidence  to  sustain  the 
charge  that  he  was  ever  disposed  to  trade  off  any  part  of 
them  for  fishing  privileges  on  the  Atlantic.  It  is  expressly 
stated  in  his  own  works  that  "the  government  of  the 
United  States  has  never  offered  any  line  south  of  49°  with 
the  navigation  of  the  Cohimbia,  and  it  never  will."  *  He 
asserted  our  right  to  the  Columbia  River  in  virtue  of  Gray's 
discovery  in  1792. 

While,  then,  we  cannot  admit  all  that  has  been  claimed 
in  this  matter  for  Dr.  Whitman,  it  is  undeniably  true  that 

•  VOL  ▼,  p.  73. 


Protestant  Missions  in  Oregon, 


73 


he  rendered  a  most  important  service  to  his  country,  in 
diffusing  correct  information  with  respect  to  the  climate, 
soil,  and  natural  resources  and  capabilities  of  our  north- 
western territory,  in  correcting  the  misrepresentations  of 
English  officials  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company ;  and  espe- 
cially in  demonstrating  the  practicability  of  the  overland 
route  to  immigrants,  by  the  large  numbers  that  safely  ar- 
rived in  Oregon  the  following  year.  Surely  his  patri- 
otic labors  and  his  character  merit  better  treatment  from 
his  government  than  they  have  ever  yet  received.  Both 
have  long  rested  under  the  obloquy  heaped  upon  them  by 
Jesuit  priests  and  their  agents,  and  this  in  an  official  docu- 
ment— House  Executive  Document  No.  38 — published  by 
authority  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Congress.* 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  Rev.  Dr.  Barrows  has  given  to  the  public, 
in  the  main,  a  discriminating  article  on  the  great  service  Dr.  Whitman 
rendered  his  country  on  the  Oregon  question.  We  are  pleased  to  see  that, 
after  a  careful  investigation,  he  bears  testimony  to  the  correctness  of  the 
facts  here  stated. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  IMMIGRATION  OF    1 843. 


OUR  pioneer  missionary  having  explained  to  many  of 
the  principal  men  at  Washington  the  plans  and 
purposes  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the  British 
government,  which  contemplated  the  permanent  posses- 
sion of  the  country,  and  having  clearly  showed  that  this 
was  the  motive  for  all  the  false  representations  as  to  its 
agricultural,  mineral  and  commercial  value,  he  announced 
his  intention  to  return  to  Oregon  overland  in  the  early 
summer  with  a  large  party  of  immigrants,  taking  along 
with  him  their  wagons  and  horses.  Then  he  visited  Bos- 
ton and  reported  to  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions.  He  afterwards  complained  that 
the  Board  had  failed  to  appreciate  his  patriotic  motives, 
and  that  they  also  found  fault  with  him  for  leaving  his 
station  without  permission  from  the  Prudential  Committee 
at  Boston. 

Having  disposed  of  what  little  private  property  he  pos- 
sessed in  the  East,  Dr.  Whitman  speedily  made  his  way  to 
Missouri  to  join  the  large  party  of  immigrants  who  were 
about  to  start  on  that  long  and  dangerous  journey.  Under 
the  circumstances,  he  naturally  felt  a  great  responsibility 
for  its  safety  and  success,  as  it  was  partly  through  his  per- 
sonal representations  the  previous  spring,  when  on  his  way 

74 


The  Immigration  of  184.3, 


75 


to  Washington,  and  through  reading  a  pamphlet  in  which 
he  had  set  forth  the  practicability  of  the  route  and  the 
desirableness  of  the  climate,  soil  and  productions,  that 
many  members  of  the  party  had  decided  to  make  Oregon 
their  future  home. 

Meanwhile,  more  and  better  information  respecting 
Oregon  had  turned  the  attention  of  the  people  of  what 
was  then  the  far  West  to  its  desirableness  as  a  place  of 
residence.  This  information  was  furnished  by  such  books 
as  Rev.  Mr.  Parker's  and  Irving's  Astoria  and  by  the  re- 
ports and  debates  of  Congress.  Public  meetings  at  Alton 
and  Springfield,  111.,  had  increased  the  interest  and  led 
to  concerted  measures  for  removal;  so  that  Dr.  Whit- 
man, on  reaching  the  western  settlements  on  his  way 
east,  had  found  preparations  making  for  a  large  emigra- 
tion, though  it  was  supposed  that  wagons  could  not  go 
beyond  Fort  Hall.  His  presence  among  the  prospective 
pioneers,  and  his  assurances  that  the  route  was  practicable 
and  that  he  would  join  them  and  be  their  pilot,  had  in- 
creased their  number.  His  business  at  Boston  and  a  visit 
to  his  former  home,  however,  so  delayed  him  that  the  cara- 
van, which  set  out  on  the  20th  of  May  under  Peter  H. 
Burnet  as  captain,  had  nearly  reached  the  Platte  River 
before  he  could  overtake  it.  His  previous  experience  in 
crossing  the  plains,  rivers  and  mountains  enabled  him  at 
once  to  render  most  effective  service  to  the  large  company. 
One  of  the  members  thus  speaks  of  the  crossing  of  the 
Platte  soon  after  his  joining  the  party :  "Those  who  saw 
him  [Dr.  Whitman]  for  three  days  crossing  and  recrossing 
the  wide  stream,  swimming  his  horse  to  find  the  best  ford, 
and  at  last  heard  him  order  the  one  hundred  or  more 


. 


76 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


teams  to  be  chained  together  and  driven  in  one  long  line 
to  ford  for  two  miles  that  river  swollen  by  spring  floods, 
cheering  the  drivers,  permitting  not  a  moment's  halt,  lest 
they  should  sink  in  the  quicksands,  will  never  forget  the 
man  nor  the  deed."  Another*  writes:  "It  is  no  dispar- 
agement to  others  to  say  that  to  no  other  individual  are 
the  emigrants  of  1843  so  much  indebted  for  the  successful 
conclusion  of  their  journey  as  to  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman." 

At  Fort  Hall,  the  most  eastern  depot  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  the  Company's  agent,  as  usual,  did  all  he 
could  to  induce  the  immigrants  to  abandon  their  purpose 
of  going  to  Oregon,  by  portraying  the  insurmountable  dif- 
ficulties of  the  way.  The  route  to  California  was  practic- 
able, he  said,  but  not  that  to  Oregon.  Dr.  Whitman 
assured  the  alarmed  party  that  if  they  would  only  trust 
him  he  would  be  responsible  for  their  safe  arrival  in  the 
early  fall.  From  this  place  he  was  obliged  to  proceed 
ahead  of  the  train,  as  his  professional  services  were  re- 
quired at  his  mission.  Before  leaving,  however,  he  pro- 
vided a  faithful  Indian  guide,  a  Cayuse  chief  named  Isti- 
kus,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  remaining  part  of 
the  road.  Under  his  guidance  the  party,  consisting  of 
875  persons,  some  200  wagons  and  1300  head  of  cattle, 
reached  the  Dalles  on  September  20,  1843. 

This  immigration  had  been  preceded  by  a  smaller  one 
in  1842,  numbering  in  men,  women  and  children  137 
souls,  and  having  in  their  train  a  few  head  of  cattle. 
Other  settlers  arrived  by  sea  during  this  and  the  following 
year,  and  with  the  assistance  obtained  from  the  Methodist 
mission  were  soon  located  in  comfortable  homes. 
*  Mr.  Applegale. 


The  Immigration  of  1843. 


77 


The  influence  of  Americans  on  the  Pacific  coast,  which 
had  been  growing  yearly,  had  now  reached  such  a  point 
as  to  excite  anew  the  jealousy  o'  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany and  of  all  favoring  the  supremacy  of  the  English 
government.  "The  whole  policy  of  the  Company,"  says 
Mr.  Gray,  **  was  change  1  when  it  was  known  that  Dr. 
Whitman  had  safely  arrived  in  Washington  and  the  boun- 
dary line  was  not  settled."  Dr.  Whitman's  own  estimate 
of  the  importance  of  the  success  of  the  latest  overland  im- 
migration was  probably  shared  by  the  English.  He  con- 
sidered that  it  practically  settled  the  destiny  of  Oregon, 
as  is  shown  by  a  letter  he  wrote  in  April,  1847,  to  the 
American  Board.  It  was  certainiy  the  turning-point  in 
the  history  of  the  Territory,  for  it  gave  the  control  of  its 
civil  affairs  into  the  hands  of  Americans. 

Previous  settlers  from  the  States  were  alive  to  what  the 
English  government  was  doing  and  were  apprehensive  of 
the  result.  This  may  be  learned  from  a  petition  which 
they  sent  to  Congress  at  so  early  a  period  as  1840,  in 
which  they  state  that  **a  surveying  squadron  has  been  on 
the  coast  for  the  past  two  years,  employed  in  making 
accurate  surveys  of  all  its  rivers,  bays  and  harbors ;  and 
recently  the  British  government  is  said  to  have  made 
a  grant  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  of  all  lands  lying 
between  the  Columbia  River  and  Puget  Sound,  and  the 
Company  is  actually  exercising  acts  of  ownership  over 
these  lands  and  opening  extensive  farms  upon  the  same. 
These  circumstances  and  other  acts  of  the  Company  to  the 
same  effect,  and  their  declaration  that  the  English  gov- 
ernment own,  and  will  hold  as  its  own  soil,  that  portion 
of  Oregon  north  of  the  Columbia  River,  have  led  your 


78 


7^e  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


petitioners  to  apprehend  that  this  is  the  settled  policy  of 
the  English  government."  * 

**^If  a  settler  located  anywhere  against  the  Company's 
will,  he  had  to  pay  the  forfeit.  Dr.  McLaughlin  received 
orders,  as  the  governor  of  this  western  branch  of  this 
Company,  to  despatch  agents  to  Fort  Hall  and  order  them 
to  stop  the  American  immigration,  and  if  possible  to  pre- 
vent them  from  crossing  the  Blue  Mountains.  If  that 
lamented  man.  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  had  not  been  mur- 
dered, as  well  as  his  papers  burned,  we  should  have  had 
the  evidence  which  this  Company  feared."  f 

In  order  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  Protestant 
missionaries,  and  thus  indirectly  hinder  the  settlement  of 
the  country  by  Americans,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
favored  and  assisted  the  Jesuit  priests  from  the  time  of 
their  arrival  in  Oregon,  which,  as  before  stated,  was  soon 
after  the  Methodist  mission  and  that  of  the  American 
Board  had  been  established. 

As  has  also  been  stated,  any  plan  for  reclaiming  the 
Indians  from  their  wandering  life  and  inducing  them  to 
settle  down  and  cultivate  the  soil  was  antagonistic  to  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  Company  and  to  its  policy 
of  holding  on  to  all  the  arable  land  for  its  numerous  de- 
pendents. The  Indians  were  manifesting  a  tendency  to 
better  things.  Gradually  they  were  forsaking  their  former 
nomadic  inclinations  and  were  adopting  a  more  civilized 
mode  of  life.  This  made  the  entire  country  safer  and 
each  year  more  desirable  and  attractive  for  white  immi- 
grants.    That  this  condition  of  affairs  was  well  under  way 

*  Gray,  pp.  194,  195. 

fHon.  S.  R.  Thutaton,  in  House  of  RcpreseutatJves, 


The  Immigration  of  1843. 


?9 


in  1 84 J  may  be  seen  from  the  report  of  Rev.  H.  H. 
Spalding  to  Dr.  White,  the  Indian  agent  for  Oregon : 

*'  I  am  happy  to  say  that  this  people  (Nez  Perce)  are 
very  generally  turning  their  attention  to  cultivating  the 
soil,  and  raising  hogs,  cattle  and  sheep,  and  find  a  much 
more  abundant  and  agreeable  source  of  subsistence  in  the 
hoe  than  in  their  bows  and  their  sticks  for  digging  roots. 
Last  season  about  140  cultivated  from  one-fourth  of  an 
acre  to  four  or  five  acres  each.  One  chief  raised  176 
bushels  of  peas  last  season,  100  of  corn  and  400  bushels 
of  potatoes;  another,  150  of  peas,  160  of  corn,  a  large 
quantity  of  potatoes,  vegetables,  etc.  Some  forty  other 
individuals  raised  each  from  20  to  100  bushels  of  grain."  * 

This  state  of  things  could  not  long  go  on  without  seri- 
ously interfering  with  the  schemes  of  the  agents  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company.  As  the  missionaries  were  in- 
structing the  natives  in  the  use  of  the  plough  and  other 
agricultural  implements  and  furnishing  them  with  seed, 
it  was  evident  that  ere  long  most  of  the  arable  land,  which 
at  this  period  was  confined  to  the  borders  of  the  streams, 
would  presently  be  either  in  possession  of  the  Indians  or 
occupied  by  the  incoming  immigrants. 

The  methods  adopted  by  the  Roman  Catholic  priests 
contemplated  no  such  material  results,  but  only  the  sim- 
plest instruction  in  the  ritual  observances  of  their  church, 
which  could  be  secured  without  a  fixed  residence  among 
the  Indians  or  any  particular  change  in  their  previous 
mode  of  life.  These  plans  naturally  fell  in  with  the  policy 
pursued  by  the  Company,  which  was  **  to  destroy  the  chief- 
tainship, cut  the  different  tribes  into  smaller  clans,  and 

*  The  entire  report  may  be  foand  in  Oray's  Oregon,  chap.  xxxi. 


8o 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


divide  their  interests  as  far  as  possible,  so  as  to  weaken 
them  and  render  them  incapable  of  inju-ing  the  whites."  * 
Accordingly,  soon  after  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Whitman  and 
party,  the  Company  sent  for  the  Roman  Catholic  priests 
S)anchet  and  Dernerse,  who  established  their  headquar- 
ters Pt  Vancouver.  Blanchet  entered  the  field  occupied 
by  the  Methodist  mission,  Demerse  that  worked  by  the 
American  Board. 

It  was  not  long  before  this  disturbing  element  made 
itself  felt.  "The  interpreters  of  the  Company,  being  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  made  free  to  inform  the  Indians 
that  theirs  was  the  true  religion.  The  Indians  soon  came 
to  the  station  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  informed  him  of  what 
had  been  done,  and  that  they  had  been  told  by  the  priest 
that  his  was  the  true  religion;  that  what  he  and  Mr. 
Spalding  had  been  teaching  them  was  all  false,  and  that 
it  Wiis  not  right  for  the  Indians  to  listen  to  them."  f 

The  Indians  were  told  also  t'aat  the  American  mission- 
aries vere  actuated  only  by  greed.  **  While  the  Protestant 
missions,"  says  Mr.  Gray,  "were  struggling  to  improve 
the  condition  of  the  Indians,  to  teach  them  to  cultivate 
their  lands  and  become  permanent  settlers,  and  to  give 
the  Indian  children  a  knowledge  of  books,  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  and  Jesuit  priests  were  attempting  to  per- 
suade them  that  the  instructions  given  by  these  American 
or  Boston  missionaries  were  only  to  cover  up  a  secret  de- 
sign they  had  to  take  their  lands  and  property  from  them, 
and  eventually  to  occupy  the  country  themselves."  J 

An  endeavor  was  made  to  excite  the  cupidity  of  the 

*  Hines'  Oregon,  quoted  by  Gray,  p.  285. 
t  Gray,  p.  180, 
t  Gray,  p.  183. 


7%^  Immigration  of  1S43. 


81 


Indians  by  telling  them  that  the  missionaries,  on  first  com- 
ing into  their  country,  had  promised  not  only  to  pay  them 
for  alJ  lands  required  for  mission  purposes,  but  to  make 
them  yearly  a  present  of  a  large  amount  of  valuable  goods. 
The  spreaders  of  ti»  a  story  were  careful  not  to  say  that  such 
promises  had  been  made  by  any  of  the  present  missionaries, 
for  that  could  have  been  easily  disproved  ;  but  the  burden 
was  laid  upon  Mr.  Parker,  who  in  1835  visited  the  Cayuse 
and  Nez  Perc6  tribes,  to  select,  at  their  request,  mission 
stations  among  them ;  and  the  sole  authority  for  it  was  a 
statement  of  old  John  Toupin,  an  interpreter  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  who  claimed  that  he  had  been  eii.ployed 
by  Mr.  Parker  to  assist  him  in  his  intercourse  with  the 
Indians.  We  shall  not  stop  now  to  refute  this  false  charge, 
as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  the  matter  further  on. 

Anotiier  story  set  afloat  was  that  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries were  poisoning  the  Indians  in  order  to  get  possession 
of  their  lands.  Particularly  was  this  charged  upon  Dr. 
Whitman,  who  in  the  kindness  of  his  heart  frequently  pre- 
scribed and  firnished  medicines  gratuitously  at  his  station. 
The  prevalence  of  the  measles  in  a  virulent  form,  attended 
with  an  unusual  number  of  deaths,  due  chiefly  to  the  great 
exposure  of  the  sick,  aroused  the  fears  and  suspicions  of 
some  of  the  Indians,  and  served  the  purpose  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  half-breeds,  who  were  instigating  them  to  injure 
their  greatest  benefactors. 

The  first  serious  demonstration  made  by  the  Inuians 
against  the  whites,  was  the  murder  and  plundering  of  a 
company  of  fur  traders  who  were  regarded  by  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  as  trespassers  upon  their  hunting  rights  and 
lands.     This  occurred  in  1842.    While  the  Company  com- 


**i=#!i=sBfe^$^gr- 


Sa 


The  Stifry  of  Marcus  Whiiman. 


pelled  theiobbers  to  give  up  the  stolen  property,  it  profited 
by  the  affair,  as  it  secured  on  its  own  terms  the  large 
amount  of  valuable  furs  which  were  recovered. 

During  the  same  year,  the  Indians  near  the  missions  of 
the  American  Board  were  very  insolent  and  annoying. 
They  seized  one  of  the  missionaries,  Rev.  Mr,  Smith,  and 
grossly  insulted  him,  on  the  alleged  ground  that  he  was 
occupying  their  lands.  They  broke  into  Dr.  Whitman's 
house,  and  treated  him  with  indignity  and  some  violence. 
One  of  them  presented  a  loaded  gun  at  the  breast  of  Rev. 
H.  H.  Spalding,  and  menaced  and  abused  him,  stopping 
only  short  of  shooting  hin. ;  and  before  leaving,  they  in- 
sulted both  Mrs.  "Whitman  and  Mrs.  Spalding.  A  few 
days  after  this,  they  burned  down  the  misson  mill  on  the 
premises  of  Dr.  Whitman,  and  all  its  appendages  and  con- 
siderable grain,  damaging  the  mission  not  less  than  jji'^oo 
or  $1500. 

This  and  succeeding  years  witnessed  occasional  panics 
in  the  white  settlements,  caused  by  the  threatening  attitude 
of  the  Indians,  some  of  whom  had  declared  their  intention 
to  kill  off  the  **  Boston"  people,  meaning  tiiose  from  the 
United  States.  Owing  to  the  disturbed  condition  of  the 
country,  and  other  reasons  which  do  not  fall  within 
our  present  purpose,  the  Methodist  mission  was  abandoned, 
and  all  its  missionaries  left  the  country. 

This  mission  being  disposed  of,  and  no  longer  interfering 
with  the  commercial  supremacy  claimed  by  the  Company 
or  the  religious  sway  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  the  latter,  who 
had  in  tne  meantime  received  large  reinforcements  from 
Belgium  and  Canada  and  riiade  extensive  preparations  to 
occupy  the  country,  were  now  free  to  give  their  sole  atten- 


I 


The  Immigration  of  184J. 


83 


tion  to  the  destruction  of  the  mission  stations  of  the  Amer- 
ican Board.  The  influence  and  the  consonant  policy  of 
the  Company  and  the  priests  worked  out  a  terrible  result ; 
for  at  Waiilatpu,  on  November  29,  1847,  a  ityf  of  the  more 
credulous  and  superstitious  of  the  Indians,  directed  by  Fin- 
lay,  a  bigoted  Roman  Catholic  half-breed,  massacred,  under 
very  revolting  circumstances,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman  and 
most  of  their  assistants,  male  and  female.  The  members 
of  the  mission  who  escaped  were  compelled  to  leave  the 
country.  The  other  persons  at  the  station,  mostly  immi- 
grants who  had  recently  arrived  and  had  been  kindly  cared 
for  by  D;.  Whitman,  were  t^ken  captive  and  held  by  the 
Indians  until  ransomed  by  Mr.  Ogden,  a  chief  factor  of 
the  Hudsoxi  Bay  Company.  He  also  sent  word  10  the  Nez 
Percys  to  deliver  up  Mr.  Spalding  and  the  other  whites  at 
his  station.  They  immediately  did  so,  bringing  them  to 
Fort  Walla  Walla. 

As  the  details  of  this  terrible  tragedy  are  to  be  found  in 
Gray's  History  of  Oregon,  and  in  Senate*  Executiv.^  Docu- 
ment No.  ^-^j,  Forty-first  Congress,  Third  Session,  it  ueeds 
no  further  notice  here.  It  was  the  culmination,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  efforts  which  had  been  made  for  many  years 
by  interested  pariies  to  destroy  the  influence  of  the  Protes- 
tant missions,  iind  to  prevent  the  country's  settlement  by 
immigrants  from  the  States.  The  changed  feeling  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  was  manifest,  as  we  have  seen,  after 
Dr.  Whitman's  signal  and  unexpected  success  in  bringing 
through  to  Oregon  the  large  immigration  of  1843.  ^^^^ 
conduct  of  the  Indians  toward  American  settlers  and  Amer- 
ican missionaries  also  became  unmistak..'.bly  hostile  from 
this  time.     The  labors  of  the  Protestant  missionaries  were 


say 


mam 


S4 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


steadily  counteracted,  and  their  motives  nr.isrepresented, 
from  the  day  the  Jesuit  fathers  began  working  among  the 
Romnn  Catholic  employes  of  the  Company. 

The  Indian  atrocities  upon  the  peaceful  inhabitants  of 
Waiilatpu  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  all  the  settle- 
ments exposed  to  attack  by  the  savages.  Measures  were 
taken  at  once  for  the  protection  of  the  defenseless  settlers 
and  for  the  punishment  of  the  murderers,  by  the  Legislative 
Assembly  of  Oregon.  Necessary  funds  were  provided,  and 
an  armed  force  was  on  the  march  for  the  scene  of  action, 
within  twenty-four  hours  after  the  issue  of  the  executive 
authority  for  arming  the  volunteers.  The  latter  were  ac- 
companied by  the  governor  and  three  peace  commissioners. 
After  several  slight  skirmishes  with  hostile  Indians,  the 
military  arrived  at  Waiilatpu,  where  the  commissioners 
called  for  the  principal  chiefs  of  all  friendly  tribes  to  meet 
them  in  council,  and  arrangements  for  peace  were  con- 
cluded. 

No  sooner  had  the  brief  war  of  powder  and  ball  ceased, 
than  a  much  fiercer  war  of  words  ensued.  The  friends  of 
the  missionaries,  and  the  American  settlers  generally, 
charged  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the  Jesuit  priests 
with  being  either  morally  responsible  for  the  massacre,  or 
criminally  culpable  in  not  preventing  it,  as  they  were  aware 
of  the  unfriendly  feelings  of  the  Indians  toward  Dr.  Whit- 
man and  of  the  threats  which  had  been  made  to  destroy  the 
mission  and  drive  away  the  missionaries.  These  charges 
obtained  general  credence  in  the  community  at  the  time  ; 
not  only  because  of  the  known  relations  and  spirit  of  those 
thus  held  accountable,  but  also  because  *'in  the  midst  of 
all  this  fury  and  savage  shedding  of  blood,  not  one  Roman 


\ 


! 


77ie  Immigration  of  184J. 


85 


Catholic  priest,  not  a  child  or  servant  even  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  nor  a  single  person  who  had  professed 
friendship  for  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  was  harmed  in 
the  least,  while  all  Protestant  missionaries  and  American 
citizens  were  either  killed,  or  driven  from  that  part  of  the 
country.*** 
*Gray,  pp.  470,  533. 


? 


wmmgM 


IHMMti  II  liiii 


liiMii  I  iiifiSi 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


A  LONG  AND  BITTER  CONTROVERSY. 


APP.OTRAC TED  paper  controversy  between  British 
subjects  and  Americans,  and  the  friends  respectively 
of  the  Jesuit  priests  and  the  Protestant  missionaries,  fol- 
lowed the  Whitman  massacre.  In  the  course  of  it,  certain 
ugly  facts  were  adduced  as  to  the  origin  of  the  hostility  of 
the  Indians  toward  the  American  missionaries.  The  singu- 
lar exemption  of  ill  Roman  Catholics  and  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  employes  from  either  fear  or  harm  of  any  kind, 
and  conduct  on  the  part  of  certain  priests,  and  agents  of 
the  Company,  subsequent  to  the  massacre,  would  suggest, 
unless  satisfactorily  explained,  that  they  were  not  only  in- 
directly, but  morally  responsible  for  the  tragedy. 

Againsl  no  single  individual,  not  connected  directly 
with  the  murders,  did  the  feeling  run  so  high,  and  w^cre 
charges  so  frequently  made  as  against  Rev.  J.  B.  A.  Brouil- 
let,  Vicar-General  of  Walla  Walla.  Deeming  it  necessary 
to  defend  his  conduct,  he  wrote  for  the  New  York  Free- 
man's  'jfournal  a  series  of  articles  which  were  afterwards 
collected  and  published  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  Protestant- 
ism in  Oregon.  Most  of  this  pamphlet  was  embodied  in  a 
report  made  to  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1857,  by 
J.  Ross  Browne,  an  agent  of  the  Treasury  Department, 
who  had  been  sent  to  the  Pacific  coast  to  obtain  informa- 

86 


\ 


A  Long  and  Bitter  Controversy. 


«7 


tion  respecting  "  the  aborigines  of  Oregon,  and  the  causes 
of  war  between  them  and  the  whites." 

Among  other  things  included  in  this  report,  were 
Brouillet's  charges  that  the  Protestant  missionaries  were 
unwise  and  so  far  unworthy  men,  who  had  brought  the  ven- 
geance of  the  Indians  upon  their  own  heads  by  their  im- 
prudent and  bad  conduct,  and  whose  labors  had  resulted  in 
no  benefit  to  the  natives  of  the  country.  • 

These  accusations  having  taken  such  permanent  and 
public  form,  measures  were  adopted  to  refute  them,  and  to 
vindicate  the  character  and  work  of  the  missionaries.  The 
testimony  was  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  Indian  De- 
partment at  Wishington,  and  by  resolution  of  the  Senate 
was  printeti  in  1871,  as  Executive  Document  37  of  the 
Forty-first  Congress. 

Soon  after  the  publication  of  this  document,  its  state- 
ments and  evidence  were  repeatedly  assailed  by  Roman 
Catholic  writerj*,  and  the  friends  of  the  Protestant  mis- 
sions assert  that  very  few  copies  of  it  ever  went  into  circu- 
lation through  the  usual  channels  of  distribution.  They 
mysteriously  di.saf>f)eared  from  the  public  eye,  and  so  com- 
pletely, that  it  has  been  impossible  for  years  to  obtain  a 
single  copy. 

The  most  elaborate  and  carefully  prepared  article  that 
has  fallen  under  the  writer's  notice  was  published  in  the 
Catholic  WP^o»r/</ in  February,  1872.  Another  was  published 
in  the  Catholic  ScniineHw  August,  1873.  In  both  articles 
the  best  efforts  of  the  writers  are  directed  to  a  vindication 
of  the  prieste  and  member^  of  tlic  Roman  Catholic  Church 
from  all  complicity  in  the  Whitman  massacre  and  the 
destruction  of  the  Protestaat  missions  j  and  their  main 


mmm 


88 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


strength  is  put  forth  to  blacken  the  moral  reputations  of 
the  missionaries  and  depreciate  their  labors  in  civilizing 
and  Christianizing  the  Indians.  It  is  this  shameful  en- 
deavor to  traduce  the  character  and  conduct  of  good  men, 
rather  than  a  wish  to  fasten  any  taint  of  crime  upon  the 
Jesuits,  that  moves  us  to  review  the  charges  made  by 
Roman  Catholic  writers,  simply  making  known  the  facts 
tfiid  leaving  the  reader  to  judge  for  himself  how  much 
responsibility  to  visit  on  the  priests,  and  how  much  on  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company. 

The  Catholic  World  article  opens  with  a  complaint  of 
habitual  misrepresentations  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
by  the  Protestant  religious  press  of  the  country,  charging 
its  editors  with  **  blind  prejudices  and  reckless  disregard  of 
truth,"  so  that  "  no  man  or  woman  is  safe  from  the  malice 
or  scurrility  of  their  pens."  We  can  safely  afford  to  pass 
such  accusations  unnoticed,  since  the  editors  assailed  re- 
quire no  vindication.  Nor  will  the  writer  of  the  article 
complain  of  our  silence,  for  he  says  further  on,  "We 
scarcely  consider  them  worthy  of  serious  attention,"  and 
proceeds : 

"But  we  have  had  recently  placed  before  us  an  official 
document,  printed  at  the  public  expense  for  the  edification 
of  the  United  States  Senate — and  no  doubt  widely  circu- 
lated throughout  the  Union  under  the  convenient  frank  of 
many  pious  members  of  Congress — in  which  are  reproduced 
calumnies  so  gross,  and  falsehoods  so  glaring,  that  we  con- 
sider it  our  duty  not  only  to  call  public  attention  to  it,  but 
to  demand  from  our  rulers  in  Washington  by  what  right 
and  authority  they  print  and  circulate  under  official  form  a 
tissue  of  fabrications,  misrepresentations,  and  even  forger- 


1 


A  Lon^  and  Bitter  Controversy. 


89 


ies,  against  the  religion,  and  the  ministers  of  that  religion, 
which  is  professed  by  5,000,000  or  6,000,000  of  free 
American  citizens." 

We  have  always  understood,  as  before  stated,  that  this 
document  was  not  **  widely  circulated."  If  it  had  been, 
surely  it  would  have  been  found  in  our  public  and  private 
libraries,  and  no  such  difficulty  experienced,  as  always  has 
l)een,  to  get  hold  of  even  a  single  copy.  The  fact  is,  com- 
paratively few  persons  know  even  of  its  existence,  much 
less  of  its  contents.  Its  sudden  and  strange  disappearance 
from  the  public  archives  alone  accounts  for  this.  It  would 
not  surprise  us  if  Protestants  were  charged  by  their  enemies 
with  its  destruction. 

The  fact  is,  the  Senate  Document  was  rendered  necessary 
by  the  publication  of  another  official  document  (No.  38) 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  containing,  false  and 
calumnious  statements.  The  Senate  document  was  neces- 
sary to  the  vindication  of  the  truth  of  history.  If  the 
Romanists  could  have  their  side  of  the  matter  published  at 
the  public  expense,  why  should  not  Protestants  ?  More- 
over, the  Romanists  have  diligently  written  up  and  widely 
published  their  side  of  the  story  in  their  own  newspapers 
and  monthlies,  in  pamphlets  and  books ;  and  they  have 
seen  to  it  that  copies  of  these  publications  were  deposited 
in  our  principal  public  libraries,  in  order  that  they  might 
be  accessible  to  future  historians  and  employed  to  create  a 
favorable  public  sentiment.  Why  should  they  complain  of 
an  effort  to  present  the  Protestant  side  of  tht  case  as  it  is 
understood  and  believed  ? 

The  next  point  raised  against  the  Senate  document  is  that 
it  "is  composed  exclusively  of  information  supplied  by 


in 


90 


T^f  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


Rev.  H.  H.  Spalding  to  A.  B.  Meacham,  Superintendent 
of  Indian  Affairs.*  ....  They  consist  mainly  of  extracts 
from  the  religious  ^/j-ess,  so  called ;  inflammatory  letters 
from  jealous  and  disappointed  preachers,  including  the 
Rev.  H.  H.  Spalding  himself;  depositions  written  out  by 
that  indefatigable  hater  with  his  own  hand,  and  changed 
in  many  essential  points  after  having  been  swcrn  to  and 
removed  from  the  control  of  the  deponents  ;  false  quota- 
tions from  The  Account  of  the  Murder  of  Dr.  Whitman^ 
by  the  Very  Rev.  J  B.  A.  Brouillet,  V.  G.,  and  others* 
statements  of  the  massacre,'*  etc. 

What  is  said  here  about  Mr.  Spalding  may  possibly  be 
true  to  the  extent  that  he  collected  and  forwarded  some  of 
the  matter  contained  in  the  document.  But  in  no  proper 
sense  can  he  be  called  its  author  ;  nor  do  the  contents  of 
the  document  rest  on  his  authority  only,  or  chiefly.  The 
document  contains  the  sworn  evidence  of  a  score  or  more 
of  official  and  private  persons;  extracts  from  the  most 
reliable  historians  of  that  part  of  our  country,  who  were 
personally  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  ;  and  the  tes- 
timony of  ecclesiastical  bodies  on  the  ground,  having  the 
best  of  opportunities  to  learn  the  facts  from  reputable  wit- 
nesses still  living  at  the  time  when  they  published  their 
solemn  verdicts.  This,  strange  to  say,  is  the  very  kind  of 
proof  our  critic  claims  to  produce  in  his  article,  so  far  as 
he  can  command  it,  to  destroy  the  reputation  of  the  Prot- 
estant missionaries,  and  to  shield  the  Jesuit  priests. 

But,  even   supposing  that  the  contents  of  the  Senate 
document  had  been  collected  and  published  by  Mr.  Spald- 

*  The  depoMtions  of  witnesses,  and  statements  uf  United  Btates  and  State 
oiBcials. 


A  Long  and  Bitter  Controversy. 


9» 


ing,  why  should  not  this  great  array  of  evidence  be  enti- 
tled to  an  authority  equal  at  least  to  that  of  Document  38 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  it  so  cGnclusively 
refutes?  The  latter  contains  sixty-six  pages,  fifty-three  of 
which  are  taken  verbatim  from  the  account  of  the  Whitman 
massacre  given  by  Vicar-General  Brouillet,  one  of  the  chief 
parties  charged  with  complicity  in  the  crime. 

If  the  objection  raised  by  the  writer  of  the  Catholic 
World  article  is  valid,  it  must  apply  with  much  greater 
force  to  the  House  document  than  to  that  of  the  Senate. 
The  former  is  almost  wholly  the  work  of  one  man,  and  he 
an  accused  man,  to  say  nothing  of  its  character,  and  the 
large  use  made  of  it  by  Mr.  Browne  in  his  report,  which 
has  led  to  the  public  charge  that  he  **  ignored  the  people, 
the  country,  and  the  government  whose  agent  he  claimed 
to  be,  and  wag  reporting  for  the  special  benefit  of  the 
Roman  religion  and  the  British  government,  as  these  are 
extensively  quoted  as  historical  data  from  which  his  report 
and  conclusions  are  drawn."  * 

The  writer  of  the  article  under  review  also  attempts  to 
cast  discredit  upon  much  of  the  evidence  presented  in  the 
Senate  document,  in  order  to  weaken  its  influence  on  the 
public.  But  this  is  a  vain  endeavor.  The  testimony  there 
given,  including  that  of  a  former  governor  of  the  Terri- 
tory and  other  United  States  officials,  cannot  be  shaken, 
much  less  invalidated,  by  the  insinuations  of  an  anony- 
mous magazine  writer. 

A  ijpecial  point  is  also  made  against  the  testimony  borne 
by  the  eight  ecclesiastical  bodies,  "claiming  to  represent 
30,000  brother  members,"  on  the  ground  that  they  knew 
*  Gray's  Orcflron,  p.  34. 


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9« 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


nothing  personally  about  that  concerning  which  they  testi- 
fied, and  **  must  of  necessity  have  depended  solely  on 
the  statements  of  the  veracious  Rev.  H.  H.  Spalding." 

The  reader  will  notice  that  their  dependence  is  said  to  be 
"solely"  on  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding;  as  if  there  were  no 
other  persons  with  any  knowledge  of  the  facts;  or  as  if 
these  intelligent  bodies  of  men,  on  the  ground,  could  not 
and  would  not  have  availed  themselves  of  all  opportunities 
to  learn  the  truth  from  the  many  accessible  and  reliable 
sources  of  information  then  existing.  They  were  not  a 
class  of  persons  likely  to  take  things  at  second  hand,  and 
promulgate  what  had  been  put  into  their  mouths  to  utter. 
To  say  the  least,  they  were  much  more  likely  to  know  the 
truth  of  what  they  affirmed  than  a  writer  living  3000  miles 
away.  But  we  are  not  surprised  at  the  effort  to  cast  dis- 
credit upon  the  testimony  of  these  large  and  respectable 
Christian  denominations,  for  it  is  very  explicit  and  pro- 
nounced in  its  condemnation  of  the  Jesuit  fathers. 

The  article  in  the  Catholic  Wor/^ stsites  the  issue  between 
the  Romish  priests  and  the  Protestant  missionaries  of  Ore- 
gon in  the  following  language : 

**  On  the  week  commencing  on  the  29lh  of  November, 
1847,  ii^ore  than  twenty-four  years  ago,  a  certain  mission- 
ary to  the  Cay  use  Indians,  named  Dr.  Whitman,  who  had 
resided  among  them  for  several  years,  was,  with  his  wife 
and  twelve  other  Americans,  brutally  murdered  by  the  sav- 
ages; and  it  is  now  attempted  by  Spalding,  who  was  his 
friend,  and  missionary  to  the  Nez  Perces,  a  neighboring 
tribe,  to  fix  the  guilt  of  this  foul  outrage  on  the  missionary 
priests  who  in  that  year  accompanied  the  Rt.  Rev.  A.  M. 
A.  Blanchet,  Bishop  of  Nesqualy,  to  Oregon,  and  who,  it 


A  Long  and  Bitter  Controversy. 


n 


is  alleged,  instigated  the  Indians  to  commit  the  deed  in 
order  to  get  rid  of  the  Protestant  missionaries.  At  the 
time  of  the  slaughter,  there  was  with  others  under  Dr. 
Whitman's  roof  a  young  woman  named  Bewley,  whom  one 
of  the  chiefs  desired  to  have  for  his  wife ;  and  it  is  also 
asserted  that  not  only  did  the  priests  encourage  her  to  yield 
to  the  Indian's  wishes,  but  forced  her  from  the  shelter  of 
their  home  and  refused  her  any  protection  whatever." 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  writer  alleges  that  the  pur- 
pose of  the  Senate  document  is  to  fix  the  guilt  on  the 
Romish  priests  of  inciting  **  the  Indians  to  commit  the 
deed  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  Protestant  missions,"  and 
of  a  want  of  humanity  toward  the  captives,  especially  the 
young  woman.  He  afifirms,  further  on  in  the  article,  that 
"no  one  for  months  thought  of  attributing  it  to  the  inter- 
ference of  the  Catholic  missionaries"  until  "the  crazy 
preacher  [Spalding]  hinted  and  next  broadly  asserted  that 
the  Jesuits  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  matter."  The 
writer  also  assumes  that  this  "slander"  was  effectually 
put  to  rest  by  "a  full  and  authentic  account  of  the  whole 
transaction,"  which  was  published  by  Rev.  Mr.  Brouillet, 
the  very  priest  most  implicated,  and  republislied  in  J. 
Ross  Browne's  report. 

To  weaken,  and  to  destroy  as  far  as  possible,  the  evi- 
dence presented  in  the  Senate  document,  the  writer  labors 
to  prove  that  the  Protestant  missions  in  Oregon  were  an 
ignominious  failure,  chiefly  because  of  the  bad  moral  char- 
acter and  incompetency  of  the  missionaries.  To  sustain 
this  accusation  the  testimony  of  Captain  Bonneville  is  ad- 
duced, who  visited  that  region  in  1832,  and  who  describes 
the  Indians  as  "  immaculate  in  honesty  and  purity  of  pur- 


;  'i 


94 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


pose,  and  more  like  a  nation  of  saints  than  a  horde  of 
savages." 

Such  antecedent  high  morality  and  piety  is,  as  might  be 
expected,  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  Indians  had 
**  imbibed  some  notions  of  the  Christian  faith  from  Cath- 
olic missionaries  and  traders  who  have  been  among  them." 
When  and  by  what  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  had  these 
Indians  been  instructed  prior  to  the  year  1832  ?  There  is 
not  a  particle  of  proof  to  sustain  this  statement ;  besides, 
the  article  goes  on  to  state  that  the  Roman  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries began  their  labors  in  Oregon  in  1838,  six  years 
afterwards.  The  only  other  way,  then,  by  this  writer's 
admission,  that  the  Indians  could  have  been  taught  their 
wonderful  piety  was  by  the  French  fur-traders  and  the 
Rocky  Mountain  men,  who  were  notoriously  wicked  and 
lecherous  and  who  oppressed  and  wronged  them  in  every 
possible  manner,  using  them  for  the  indulgence  of  their 
depraved  passions. 

The  Indians  of  lower  Oregon,  who  had  been  longest  in 
contact  with  the  whites  and  had  most  to  do  with  these 
pious  missionary  fur-traders  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
are  spoken  of  by  all  the  writers  of  that  day  as  having  been 
sadly  corrupted  by  the  vices  of  the  whites,  and  their  num- 
bers greatly  reduced  by  the  vile  and  destructive  diseases 
which  the  new- comers  had  brought  among  them. 

But  the  Nez  Percys  are  eulogized  in  this  article  for  a  pur- 
pose, namely,  to  make  it  appear  that  the  Indians  were 
made  worse  rather  than  improved  through  the  labors  of 
the  Protestant  missionaries. 

The  truth  respecting  the  Nez  Percys  is  much  more  nearly 
told  by  Admiral  Wilkes  in  his  Western  America.     He  rep- 


A  Long  and  Bitter  Controversy. 


95 


resents  them  as  "superior  to  other  tribes  in  intellect  and 
in  moral  qualities,"  but  adds:  "There  are  certain  traits 
in  their  character  that  have  hitherto  neutralized,  in  a 
great  measure,  the  zealous  and  well-directed  efforts  which 
ht!ve  been  made  for  their  improvement.  The  first  of  these 
is  a  feeling  of  personal  independence  amounting  to  law- 
lessness, which  springs  naturally  from  their  habits  of  life 
and  which  renders  it  almost  impossible  to  reconcile  them 
to  any  regular  discipline  or  system  of  labor An- 
other trait  of  a  similar  kind  is  a  certain  fickleness  of  tem- 
per, which  makes  them  liable  to  change  their  opinions  and 
policy  with  every  passing  impulse." 

I^et  the  reader  of  this  paragraph  notice,  first,  its  indirect 
but  valuable  endorsement  of  the  policy  of  the  Protestant 
missions;  second,  the  difficulties  the  missionaries  had  to 
encounter  in  their  efforts  to  persuade  the  Indians  to  settle 
down  and  engage  in  agricultural  pursuits ;  and,  third,  the 
susceptibility  of  the  Indians  to  outside  influences. 

After  these  Indians  had  had  the  advantages  for  some 
years  of  the  moral  and  pious  instructions  of  the  fur- 
traders,  the  Protestant  missionaries  took  up  their  abode 
among  them;  and  instead  of  improving  in  morals  and 
religion  they  sadly  deteriorated  in  both,  according  to  the 
writer  in  the  Catholic  World.  Notwithstanding  the  labors 
and  teachings  of  the  Protestant  missionaries,  the  natives 
grew  worse  and  worse  in  their  disposition  id  conduct,  so 
that  the  Methodist  missions  had  finally  to  be  abandoned, 
and  those  of  the  American  Board  were  put  in  the  way  of 
extinction  by  the  massacre  of  Dr.  Whitman  by  his  own 
Indians. 

It  would  take  us  too  far  away  from  our  present  purpose 


B 


96 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


should  we  pause  to  defend  at  any  great  length  the  Meth- 
odist missions,  which  this  writer  assails  with  the  same  viru- 
lence as  he  does  those  of  the  American  Board.  We  are 
inclined  to  believe,  from  what  has  been  published  from 
friend  and  foe,  that  their  founders  were  good  men,  actu- 
ated by  high  and  noble  aims.  That  they  did  accomplish 
much  good,  we  have  the  evidence  of  the  witnesses  quoted 
in  the  Senate  document,  and  of  Gray,  who,  in  his  History 
of  Oregon^  adds  that  they  lacked  experience  and  perhaps 
some  other  requisites  of  success.  Their  plans  or  methods 
were  not  the  best,  as  Dr.  Olin,*  one  of  the  authorities 
cited  in  the  article  in  the  Catholic  Worlds  admits. 

We  must  remember  that,  being  the  pioneers  in  this  mis- 
sionary work,  they  had  many  and  great  obstacles  to  sur- 
mount. They  had  at  first  to  give  a  large  part  of  their 
time  to  raising  food  to  supply  their  own  necessities  and 
provide  for  those  dependent  upon  them;  this  led  them  too 
largely  into  secular  affairs,  which  should  have  been  kept 
more  subordinate  to  the  purely  spiritual.  They  also  nec- 
essarily encountered  the  opposition  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  in  their  efTorts  to  improve  the  material  condi- 
tion of  the  people  among  whom  they  labored,  and  the 
power  of  the  Company  was  at  the  time  well-nigh  irre- 
sistible. To  these  outward  influences  should  be  added 
the  fact  that  the  vicious  whites  had  introduced  "loath- 
some diseases"  among  the  Indians,  by  reason  of  which 
some  of  the  tribes  in  lower  Oregon  were  fast  disappearing. 
Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  who  visited  that  region  in  1835,  esti- 
mated the  number  of  Indians  at  8000  ;  but  Rf   .  Mr.  Lee, 

*  Said  by  the  writer  "  to  be  one  of  them."    This  is  an  error,  and  shows 
a  very  slight  knowledge  of  the  subject  treated. 


A  Long  and  Bitter  Controversy, 


$7 


one  of  the  chief  missionaries  in  1840,  could  find  only 
6000. 

The  testimony  of  Dr.  White,  sub  Indian  agent,  is  also 
quoted  in  the  article  to  show  the  want  of  success  of  the 
Methodist  missions : 

"The  Rev.  Mr.  Lee  and  associates  are  doing  but  little 

for  the  Indians With  all  that  has  been  expended, 

without  doubting  the  correctness  of  the  intention,  it  is 
most  manifest  to  every  observer  that  the  Indians  of  this 
lower  country,  as  a  whole,  have  been  very  little  benefited." 

It  is  rarely  that  one  can  find  more  misleading  and  unfair 
quotations  than  these.  The  writer  quotes  only  so  much  as 
suits  his  object,  and  omits  all  that  would  show  what  good 
the  missionaries  were  doing  and  why  they  had  not  accom- 
plished more. 

The  reports  from  which  the  extracts  f  re  taken  may  be 
seen  on  pages  '^31  and  246  of  Gray's  History  of  Oregon. 
The  first  extract  entire  is  as  follows : 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Lee  and  associates,  from  their  well-con- 
ducted operations  at  the  Dalles,  upon  the  Columbia,  and 
a  school  of  some  thirty  scholars  successfully  carried  for- 
ward upon  the  Willamet,  are  doing  but  little  for  the  In- 
dians ;  nor  could  great  efforts  produce  much  good  among 
the  scattered  remnants  of  the  broken  tribes  of  this  lower 
district,  who  are  fast  disappearing  before  the  ravages  of 
the  most  loathsome  diseases." 

The  school  referred  to  was  known  as  the  Oregon  Mis- 
sion Manual  Labor  School.  Whether  it  was  accomplish- 
ing the  purpose  of  its  founders  may  be  seen  from  the 
statement  of  Captain  W.  A.  Slocum,  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  who  visited  it  in  January,  1837 :  **  I  have  seen  chil- 


98 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitmati. 


drefi  who,  two  years  ago,  were  roaming  over  their  own 
native  wilds  in  a  state  of  savage  barbarism,  now,  being 
brought  within  the  knowledge  of  moral  and  religious  in- 
struction, becoming  useful  members  of  society,  by  being 
taught  the  most  useful  of  all  arts,  agriculture,  and  all  this 
without  the  slightest  compulsion."  So  well  pleased  was 
he  with  the  methods  here  pursued  to  civilize  and  perma- 
nently benefit  the  savages  that,  before  leaving,  he  made  a 
personal  contribution  of  fifty  dollars  to  the  funds  of  the 
School. 

Out  of  this  humble  undertaking  came  in  1842  the  col- 
legiate institution  known  af  the  Oregon  Institute,  all  of 
whose  first  trustees  were  either  Methodist  missionaries  or 
were  connected  with  the  missions  of  that  church.  The 
funds  for  the  erection  of  the  necessary  buildings  for  the 
institution  were  derived  almost  wholly  from  the  same 
source,  many  persons  belonging  to  the  Methodist  mission 
giving  "  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  all  they  pos- 
sessed." By  an  act  of  the  Oregon  Legislature,  the  Insti- 
tute became  Willamette  University,  which  has  had  in  some 
years  as  many  as  300  students  in  attendance  in  its  various 
departments.  Does  this  look  as  if  these  men  labored  in 
vain  or  as  if  their  work  were  rather  an  injury  than  a 
blessing?  What  candid  person  can  look  back  to  the 
foundations  which  they  laid  and  deny  that  the  influ- 
ence of  this  Indian  mission  was  of  inestimable  value  to 
Oregon? 

•  The  second  extract  in  the  article  likewise  omits  all  that 
would  show  the  reasons  for  no  greater  success.  The  very 
next  line  to  that  quoted  reads : 

**  They  were  too  far  gone  with  scrofula  and  venereal.  But 


A  Long  and  Bitter  Controversy, 


09 


should  he  (Mr.  Lee)  insist,  as  a  reason  for  his  claim,*  the 
benefit  arising  to  the  colony  and  the  country,  I  am  with 
him  heartily  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  claim  is  a  valuable 
one,  this  country  has  been  increased  more  by  the  mission 

operations  than  twice  its  amount  in  finance It  is 

but  just  to  say,  he  and  his  associates  are  exerting  a  consid- 
erable and  most  salutary  influence  all  abroad  among  us." 

It  is  thus  seen  that  if  the  reports  had  beeji  honestly  used 
by  the  writer  in  the  Catholic  World,  they  would  not  have 
subserved  his  purpose,  for  they  show  that  good  results  did 
attend  the  labors  of  the  Methodists,  and  that  prominent 
among  the  obstacles  which  limited  their  influence  were  the 
vices  and  diseases  introduced  among  the  Indians  by  the 
pious  Roman  Catholic  French  and  Canadian  fur  traders ! 

Mr.  Gray,  in  speaking  of  Dr.  White's  reports,  says: 
**The  truth  is,  and  was  at  the  time  Dr.  White  wrote,  1843, 
that  Mr.  Lee  and  his  mission  were  the  only  persons  in  the 
Willamet  valley  doing  anything  to  improve  the  condition 
of  the  Indians,  of  which  their  Indian  school,  now  Willa- 
metf  University,  is  a  permanent  monument."  Moreover, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Dr.  White  was  regarded  by 
many  Oregonians  as  having  been  used  constantly  by  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  to  promote  and  protect  its  interests; 
his  influence  being  employed  to  divide  and  destroy  the 
American  settlement,  "  as  he  had  done  that  of  the  Metho- 
dist mission." 

Justice  requires  that  in  any  proper  estimate  of  what  was 
accomplished  by  the  Methodist  mission,  prominence  be 
given  to  its  influence  in  the  settlement  of  the  country;  for 

•  A  claim  preferred  by  the  mission  to  certain  lands. 
tWiUamette. 


100 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


when  the  time  came  to  organize  a  provisional  government 
for  the  protection  of  the  inhabitants,  the  Methodist  mis- 
sion, says  a  trustworthy  writer,  "worked  nobly  for  this 
object.  That  mission  was  the  centre  around  which  all 
these  efforts  at  first  crystallized,  and  without  which  little,  if 
anything,  would  probably  have  been  accomplished  at  that 
early  day." 

The  labors  of  the  missionaries  were  twofold.  Their 
first  and  chief  aim  was  to  civilize  and  Christianize  the 
Indians ;  but  when  they  saw  the  aborigines  melting  away 
by  reason  of  diseases  introduced  among  them  by  the  pious 
fur  traders,  they  naturally  turned  their  attention  to  benefit- 
ing the  white  immigrants,  to  whom,  as  we  have  seen,  their 
efforts  proved  a  great  and  lasting  blessing. 

The  author  of  The  River  of  the  JVest,  Mrs.  Victor, 
is  quoted  by  the  writer  in  the  Catholic  World  as  saying : 
'*  So  far  from  benefiting  the  Indians,  the  Methodist  mission 
became  an  actual  injury  to  them."  Here  again  occurs  a 
most  noticeable  omission.     The  entire  passage  is : 

"The  sudden  and  absolute  change  of  habits  which  the 
Indian  students  were  compelled  to  make  did  not  agree 
with  them.  The  first  breaking  up  of  the  ground  for  mak- 
ing farms  caused  malaria,  and  induced  much  sickness 
among  them.  Many  had  died,  and  many  others  had  gone 
back  to  their  former  habits.  Much  vice  and  disease  had 
prevailed  among  the  natives,  which  had  been  introduced 
by  deserting  sailors  and  other  profligate  adventurers."* 

♦  River  of  the  West,  p.  288.  But  Mrs.  Victor  is  an  indifferent  authority  at 
best,  for  elsewhere  in  her  book  she  shows  that  she  has  no  proper  concep- 
tion of  religion,  or  the  work  of  missions.  She  says  Indians  cannot  be 
taught  except  through  material  things;  thut  the  missionaries  began 
wrong,  by  first  teaching  religion,  and  hence  their  failure.    She  says,  too. 


A  Long  and  Bitter  Controversy, 


lot 


In  this  way,  and  with  such  misuse  of  the  authorities 
quoted,  the  writer  in  the  Catholic  World  endeavors  to 
prove  the  Methodist  missions  a  failure ;  and  with  evident 
self-complacency  he  says :  **  There  ended  the  first  chapter 
in  the  history  of  the  progress  and  civilization  of  the 
Indians  in  Oregon." 

On  the  other  hand,  what  is  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Gray, 
who  knew  all  the  parties,  was  conversant  with  their  work, 
and  was  a  resident  of  Oregon  during  almost  the  entire 
period?     On  page  598  of  his  history  we  read: 

"The  Methodist  missionary  influence  upon  the  natives 
was  good,  so  far  as  they  had  an  opportunity  to  exert  any. 
At  the  Dalles  it  was  certainly  good  and  lasting,  notwith- 
standing the  Jesuits  placed  a  station  alongside  of  them. 
The  Methodists  were,  from  the  commencement  of  t!ieir 
mission,  interfered  with  in  every  way  possible  in  their 
efforts  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  and  induce 
them  to  cultivate  their  lands,  and  leave  off  the  hunting  of 
fur  animals." 


that  Dr.  Whitman  and  Rev.  Dr.  Parker  parted,  because  they  difflsred  and 
could  not  get  along  together.  This  is  an  erroneous  statement.  The  true 
reason  we  have  given. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


MISSIONS   O?   THE   AMERICAN    BOARD. 


HAVING  disposed   of   the   Methodist  missions,  the 
writer  in  the  Catholic  World  addresses  himself  to 
what  he  calls  the  "  Presbyterian  mission  :" 

"The  Methodists  having  selected  lower  Oregon  a.  ':he 
field  of  their  labors,  the  Presbyterians  chose  the  upper  or 
eastern  portion  of  the  territory.  They  arrived  in  1836,  three 
in  number,  afterwards  increased  to  twelve,  and  backed  up 
by  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  Dr. 
Marcus  Whitman  settled  at  Waiilatpu  among  the  Cayuses 
and  Walla  Wallas,  and  Messrs.  H.  H.  Spalding  and  W.  H. 
Gray  at  Lapwai,  with  the  Nez  Percys.  In  1838,  the  Spo- 
kane mission  was  established  by  Messrs.  Walker  and  Ellis.* 
Their  prospects  of  success  were  at  first  most  brilliant.  The 
savages  received  them  kindly,  and  listened  to  them  atten- 
tively." 

And  Mrs.  Victor  testifies  that  **  there  was  no  want  of 
ardor    in  the   Presbyterian    missionaries.     They  applied 
themselves  in  earnest  to  the  work  they  had  undertaken. 
They  were  diligent  in  their  efforts  to  civilize  and  Christian- 
ize their  Indians." 

Similar  testimony  is  to  be  seen  in  Townsend's  narrative, 
Across  the  Rocky  Mountains^  with  respect  to  the  fidel- 
ity of  Dr.  Whitman  and  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding. 

*E«Ub. 

I02 


Missions  of  the  American  Board. 


103 


"They  appear  admirably  qualified  for  the  arduous  duty 
to  which  they  have  devoted  themselves,  their  minds  being 
fully  alive  to  the  mortifications  and  trials  incident  to  a 
residence  among  wild  Indians;  but  they  do  not  shrink 
from  the  task,  believing  it  to  be  their  religious  duty  to 
engage  in  thi''  work." 

But  however  .pable  and  devoted  these  men  were,  ac- 
cording to  the  writer  in  the  Catholic  Worlds  they  "made  a 
fatal  mistr'  •  at  cue  very  beginning,  which  not  only  reflects 
on  their  personam  honesty,  but  shows  that  they  knew  noth- 
ing of  the  character  of  the  people  they  came  to  instruct." 

What  wrts  this  mistake  that  compromised  **  their  personal 
honesty"?  Why,  that  they  had  promised  to  pay  the  In- 
dians for  all  the  lands  required  for  mission  purposes,  and 
that  "  a  big  ship  loaded  with  goods  wpuld  come  yearly  to 
be  divided  among  them." 

Who  is  charged  with  having  made  siich  foolish  prom- 
ises? The  missionaries?  No ;  this  is  not  once  pretended; 
the  assertion  is  made  against  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  who,  as 
the  reader  will  recall,  visited  these  tribes  in  1835  to  select 
suitable  places  for  mission  stations.  Had  this  charge  been 
placed  to  the  account  of  the  missionaries,  it  could  easily 
have  been  refuted  by  scores  of  reputable  witnesses. 

On  whose  authority  is  the  accusation  made  ?  Not  even 
on  Vicar-General  Brouillet's,  which,  from  his  relations  to 
the  question  at  issue,  would  be  sufficiently  untrustworthy. 
JJ-  rests  entirely  on  stairments  of  *'  old  "  John  Toupin,  the 
Roman  Catholic  interpreter  to  Pombrun,  agent  of  the 
Hudson  Buy  Company,  made  in  1848,  more  than  twelve 
years  afterwards.  Toupin 's  evidence  is  deemed  so  essential 
that  it  is  invariably  quoted,  and  employed  in  all  of  the 


n«n 


104 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


Roman  Catholic  accounts  of  the  Whitman  massacre.  If 
other  witnesses  would  have  borne  like  testimony,  who 
doubts  that  they  would  have  been  cited  ? 

The  strong  antecedent  improbability  that  any  such  prom- 
ises were  made,  all  must  admit.  If  the  Indians  were  so 
anxious  for  religious  teachers  as  to  send  a  deputation  all  the 
way  to  St.  Louis  to  ask  for  them,  who  can  believe  that  they 
would  refuse  to  give  the  missionaries  all  the  land  they 
needed  to  raise  crops  for  subsistence?  "  At  that  time,** 
says  Mr.  Gray,*  **  there  was  not  a  band  or  tribe  of  Indians 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  but  was  ready  to  give  land 
to  any  white  man  who  would  come  and  live  in  the  country. 
This  land  question,  as  stated  by  Brouillet  and  Ross  Browne, 
had  no  part  in  the  matter." 

We  have  carefully  examined  Rev.  Mr.  Parker's  book,  in 
which  he  gives  an  account  of  his  visit,  but  we  can  find  not 
a  word  about  the  alleged  promises.  On  the  contrary,  he 
appears  to  have  been  particularly  cautious  and  guarded  in 
his  intercourse  with  the  Indians.  On  page  78,  he  gives  an 
account  of  his  and  Dr.  Whitman's  interview  with  the  Fiat- 
heads  and  Nez  Percys,  and  says :  **  We  laid  before  them  the 
object  of  our  appointment,  and  explained  to  them  the 
benevolent  desires  of  Christians  concerning  them."  He 
then  speaks  of  their  desire  to  have  missionaries  come  and 
reside  among  them,  and  of  the  great  promise  of  useful- 
ness, as  the  harvest  was  white,  etc.  So  far  from  mention- 
ing any  promise  to  buy  land  or  furnish  presents,  he  says, 
on  page  79 :  "  We  did  not  call  together  the  chiefs  of  the 
Shoshones  and  Utaws  to  propose  the  subject  of  missions 
among  them,  lest  we  should  excite  expectations  whicn 

*  (h'egwit  p.  461, 


i 


Missions  of  the  American  Boards 


"5 


would  not  soon  be  fulfilled.  We  were  more  cautious  upon 
this  subject,  because  it  is  difficult  to  make  an  Indian  under- 
stand the  difference  between  a  proposal  and  a  promise." 

Again,  speaking  of  the  repeated  entreaties  of  Indians 
from  the  Dalles,  who  **  begged  for  some  one  to  come  and 
teach  them,"  he  says:  **I  could  not  promise,  but  replied 
that  I  hoped  it  would  not  be  more  than  two  snows  before 
some  one  would  be  sent  ....  that  when  I  returned  [to 
the  East]  I  would  use  my  influence  to  have  others  come 
and  live  among  them."  * 

With  reference  to  Brouillet's  statement,  solely  on  the 
authority  of  "old"  John  Toupin,  that  Rev.  Mr.  Parker 
made  promises  to  the  Indians,  Mr.  Gray  speaks  most  posi- 
tively: "  Brouillet  cites  Rev.  Mr.  Parker's  first  supposed 
or  imaginary  statement  to  the  Indians,  as  a  cause  of  the 
massacre,  which  we  know  to  be  false  and  unfounded  from 
the  six  years*  early  acquaintance  we  had  with  those  In- 
dians, and  also  from  the  personal  allusions  he  makes  to 
transactions  with  which  we  were  intimately  acquainted, 
and  know  to  be  false  in  fact  and  inference.f  ....  Which 
promise  Mr.  Parker  never  made,  and  these  Roman  priests 
made  up  to  cause  difficulty  with  the  Indians  and  the  Amer- 
ican missions  and  settlements. ' '  \ 

On  page  46  of  Senate  Executive  Document  37,  in  an- 
swer to  the  question  whether  "the  taking  of  the  Indians* 
land  by  the  missionaries  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  mur- 
der of  Dr.  Whitman  and  family,**  ex-Governor  Abernathy 
answers:  "I  believe  and  know  this  to  be  false;"  and 
Hon.  A.  Hinman  answers :  "  The  most  wicked  falsehood 
ever  uttered."     Rev.  J.  L.  Griffin,  who  was  laboring  as 

*  Parker,  p.  ^7.  t  Oray.  p.  502.  (  C^nyi  p>  Six. 


io6 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


an  independent  missionary  at  that  time  in  Oregon,  testi- 
fies as  follows :  "  Whitman  and  Spalding  took  no  lands — 
only  the  stations  they  occupied  and  improved,  as  the  In- 
dians requested  them,  and  upon  which  they  located  them 
on  arriving  in  the  country,  in  answer  to  a  call  from  the 
Indians  and  as  authorized  by  a  written  permit  by  the  War 
Department,  at  Washington,  dated  March  i,  1836." 

The  testimony  of  Chief  Joseph,  of  the  Nez  Perc6  tribe, 
may  be  seen  in  an  article  in  the  North  American  Review 
of  March,  1878.  He  says:  "When  my  father  was  a 
young  man  there  came  to  the  country  a  white  man  [Rev. 
Mr.  Spalding]  who  talked  spirit  law.  He  won  the  affec- 
tions of  our  people  because  he  spoke  good  things  to  them. 
At  first  he  did  not  say  anything  about  white  men  wanting 
to  settle  on  our  lands.  Nothing  was  said  about  that  until 
about  twenty  years  ago." 

It  is  unquestionably  true  that  the  missionaries,  including 
Dr.  Whitman,  had  trouble  with  the  Indians  at  various 
times  with  respect  to  lands.  The  history  of  the  mission 
itself,  as  also  the  statements  of  Messrs.  Whitman  and 
Spalding,  bear  evidence  to  this  fact.  In  the  Annual  Re- 
port of  the  American  Board  for  1842,  page  194,  we  have 
this  statement,  presumably  based  on  information  furnished 
by  the  missionarie? : 

"  A  papal  Indian  belonging  to  one  of  the  tribes  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  had  so  instigated  some  of  the  Cay- 
uses  that  they  treated  Dr.  Whitman  and  Mr.  Gray  with  a 
good  deal  of  insolence  and  abuse,  destroying  some  prop- 
erty and  demanding  payment  for  the  land,  timber,  fuel 
and  water  the  missionaries  had  used,  and  threatening  to 
drive  them  from  the  country.'* 


. 


Missions  of  the  American  Board. 


107 


Other  instances  of  offered  violence  are  on  record,  as 
also  the  destruction  by  fire  of  a  grist  mill  at  the  Waiilatpu 
station. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  demand  for  payment  for 
the  land  was  the  result  of  the  instigation  of  a  papal  In- 
dian, and  not  based  on  any  previous  promise  made  by 
the  missionaries.  Moreover,  a  renegade  Delaware  Indian 
named  Tom  Hill  had  told  them  that  "there  was  nothing 
in  religion  except  to  make  money  j  for  they  (the  mission- 
aries) only  wanted  to  make  money,  and  at  last  more 
Americans  would  come  and  take  away  their  land." 

But  the  influence  of  these  evil-minded  persons  extended 
to  comparatively  few  of  the  Indians,  most  of  the  Cayuses 
being  sensible  of  the  great  benefits  they  had  received  from 
the  residence  of  the  missionaries  among  them.  At  one 
time,  when  some  of  them  expressed  dissatisfaction  with 
Dr.  Whitman,  he  called  them  together  and  declared  his 
willingness  to  leave  the  country  if  they  desired.  All  but 
a  very  few  of  the  tribe  were  anxious  to  have  him  remain. 
And  Mr.  Geiger,  who  was  left  in  charge  of  Dr.  Whitman's 
station  when  the  latter  made  his  memorable  journey  to  the 
East  in  1842,  was  evidently  in  the  confidence  of  the  In- 
dians, for  they  consulted  him  at  all  times  and  relied  on 
what  he  told  them.  This  does  not  look  as  if  their  hos- 
tility to  the  mission  was  very  great,  or  as  if  they  thought 
the  missionaries  were  robbing  them  of  their  lands  and 
giving  them  nothing  in  return.  Mr.  Spalding  hcH.  the 
sanic  position  respecting  the  land  question  as  did  Dr. 
Whitman;  for,  according  to  Toupin  as  quoted  by  Brou- 
illet,  Mr.  Parker  had  made  the  same  promises  to  the  Nez 
Percys  as  Dr.  Whitman  had  to  the  Cayuses. 


io8 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


i       I 


That  the  fears  of  the  Indians  had  been  aroused  by  evil- 
disposed  persons  and  by  the  large  numbers  of  immigrants 
who  were  coming  into  their  country,  admits  of  no  doubt ; 
and  that  Dr.  Whitman,  because  of  his  relation  to  the  large 
immigration  of  1843,  should  have  become  more  especially 
obnoxious  to  some  of  the  Indians,  may  be  freely  admitted. 
In  this  sense,  and  to  this  extent,  the  land  question  may 
have  had  something  to  do  with  breaking  up  the  mis- 
sion ;  for  it  is  a  question  that  has  always  arisen  and  given 
trouble  wherever  the  whites  have  come  into  contact  with 
the  aborigines. 

The  next  effort  of  the  writer  in  the  Catholic  World  is 
to  depreciate  the  work  of  the  missionaries.  He  quotes 
again,  for  this  purpose,  from  Mrs.  Victor's  book:  "At 
each  of  these  three  stations,  in  1842,  there  was  a  small 
body  of  land  under  cultivation,  a  few  cattle  and  hogs,  a 
flouring  and  saw-mill  and  a  blacksmith's  shop." 

This,  again,  has  reference  solely  to  the  material  prog- 
ress of  the  Indians,  which  was  truly  remarkable  when  we 
consider  the  obstacles  presented  by  the  habits  of  the  na- 
tives, the  self-interest  of  the  white  traders,  and  the  very 
limited  resources  of  the  missionaries.  On  this  latter  point 
Rev.  Mr.  Griffin  testifies,  on  page  49  of  the  Senate  docu- 
ment, that  "  Spalding  and  Whitman  had  not  a  dollar  sal- 
ary, and  were  allowed  by  the  Board  to  '  draw  but  II500  a 
year*  for  each  family,  "'ith  which  to  do  everything  in 
that  *  great  and  terrible  wilderness,'  destitute  of  every- 
thing, 200  miles  from  the  nearest  mill  and  400  from  shop 
or  store,  and  with  that  to  feed,  clothe,  house  themselves 
and  to  do  all  missionary  work." 

Four  lines  are  next  selected  and  quoted  from  a  report 


Missions  of  the  American  Board. 


109 


of  six  pages  made  by  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding  to  Dr.  White, 
the  sub  Indian  agent,  going  into  the  details  of  his  work : 
"But  two  natives  have  as  yet  been  admitted  into  the 
church.  Some  ten  or  twelve  others  give  pleasing  evi- 
dence of  having  been  born  again."  This  is  produced 
to  give  the  impression  that  these  were  all  the  results 
accomplished  by  Mr.  Spalding  and  the  other  mission- 
aries. The  very  next  paragraph  would  have  destroyed 
the  impression  sought  to  be  made.     It  is  as  follows: 

"Concerning  the  schools,  and  congregations  on  the 
Sabbath,  I  will  speak  only  of  this  station.  The  congre- 
gation varies  at  different  seasons  of  the  year For 

a  few  weeks  in  the  fall,  after  the  people  return  from  their 
buffalo  hunt,  and  then  again  in  the  spring,  the  congrega- 
tion numbers  from  1000  to  2000.*  Through  the  winter 
it  numbers  from  200  to  800.     From  July  to  the  1st  of 

October,  it  varies  from  200  to  500 The  school 

now  numbers  225  in  daily  attendance,  half  of  whom  are 
adults.  Nearly  all  the  principal  men  and  chiefs  in  this 
vicinity,  with  one  chief  from  a  neighboring  tribe,  are 
members  of  the  school.  They  are  as  industrious  in  school 
as  they  are  on  their  farms.     Their  improvement  is  av..,^n- 

ishing About  100  are  printing  their  own  books 

with  a  pen.  A  good  number  are  now  so  far  advanced 
in  reading  and  printing  as  to  render  much  assistance  in 
teaching.  Their  books  are  taken  home  at  nights  and 
every  Ir-dge  becomes  a  schoolroom.  Their  lessons  are 
Scripture  lessons;  no  others  (except  the  laws)  seem  to 
interest  them Without  doubt,  a  school  of  nearly 

*  The  best  accounte  represent  the  tribe  as  then  nambering  from  2000  to 
4000. 


no 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


the.  same  number  could  be  collected  at  Kimiah,  the  sta 
tion  above  this." 

This  report  goes  on  to  speak  of  Mrs.  Spalding  as  teach- 
ing the  female  scholars  knitting,  carding,  spinning  and 
weaving,  while  Mr.  Spalding  taught  agriculture,  and  with 
what  success  let  the  same  authority  inform  us : 

*'It  was  no  small  tax  on  my  time  to  give  lessons  in 
agriculture.  That  the  men  of  the  nation  (the  first  chiefs 
not  excepted)  rose  up  to  labor  when  a  few  hoes  and  seeds 
were  offered  them,  I  can  attribute  to  nothing  but  the  un- 
seen hand  of  the  God  of  missions.  That  their  habits  are 
really  changed  is  acknowledged  by  themselves.  The  men 
say,  whereas  they  once  did  not  labor  with  their  hands, 
now  they  do ;  and  often  tell  me  in  jesting  that  I  have 
converted  them  into  a  nation  of  women.  They  are  a  very 
industrious  people,  and,  from  very  small  beginnings,  they 
now  cultivate  their  lands  with  much  skill  and  to  good  ad- 
vantage." 

This  was  but  six  years  from  the  time  the  missionaries 
first  reached  Oregon.  In  the  meantime  they  had  to  build 
their  own  houses,  to  provide  the  conveniences  of  living, 
and  to  cultivate  the  soil  for  the  subsistence  of  their  fami- 
lies and  dependents. 

Mr.  Spalding  tells  us,  in  the  report  from  which  we  have 
already  quoted,  that  he  "had  all  this  accumulation  of 
duties,  besides  eating  my  own  bread  by  the  sweat  of  my 
brow." 

Now,  as  a  foil  to  this  brief  and  unfair  quotation  of  four 
lines  from  a  six-page  statement  of  details,  we  commend 
the  reader  to  Mr.  Medill's  report,  dated  November  24, 
1845,  to  Hon.  William  L.  Marcy,  Secretary  of  War.     Mr. 


Missions  of  the  American  Board. 


tit 


Medill  was  then  Agent  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  he  bears 
witness  as  to  what  was  acconaplished  in  the  period  of 
nine  years:  "The  advancement  in  civilization  by  the 
numerous  tribes  in  that  remote  and  hitherto  neglected 
portion  of  our  territory,  with  so  few  advantages,  is  a  mat- 
ter of  surprise Numerous  schools  have  grown  up 

in  their  midst,  at  which  their  children  are  acquiring  the 
most  important  and  useful  information.  They  have  al- 
ready advanced  (especially  the  Nez  Perce  nation)  to  a 
degree  of  civilization  that  promises  the  most  beneficial 
results  to  them  and  their  brethren  on  this  side  of  the 
mountains,  with  whom  they  may,  and  no  doubt  wiU,  at 
no  distant  day  be  brought  into  intercourse.  They  are 
turning  their  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and,  with 
but  few  of  the  necessary  utensils  in  their  possession,  al- 
ready produce  sufficient,  in  some  instances,  to  meet  their 
every  want.  Among  some  of  the  tribes  hunting  has  been 
almost  entirely  abandoned,  many  individuals  looking 
wholly  to  the  soil  for  support."  *  The  reader  will  ob- 
serve that  the  above  statement  is  directly  and  positively 
at  variance  with  that  of  the  article ;  yet  the  writer  in  the 
Catholic  World  has  the  effrontery  to  state:  "It  seems, 
then,  that  it  took  twelve  missionaries  seven  years  to  con- 
vert two  savages,  at  an  expense  of  over  1^40,000  for  one 
year  at  least." 

Even  if  this  story  about  two  converts  were  true,  it  would 
be  easy  to  find  its  parallel  in  the  history  of  missions  in 
other  lands.  The  first  missionary  in  China  reported  only 
eleven  converts  in  twenty-seven  years.  From  a  worldly 
point  of  view,  this  might  be  counted  a  failure;  especially 

*  Senate  Ezectttive  Document  37,  p.  15. 


119 


T/i£  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


if  we  ignore,  as  this  writer  has  ign-  •  ed,  all  the  preparatory 
and  incidental  work  which  in  subsequent  years  brought 
hundreds  into  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Dr.  Judson  labored  five  years  in  India  before  he  saw  any 
fruits  of  his  work.  But  the  remarkable  results  which  fol- 
lowed showed  that  his  labors  were  not  in  vain.  So  the 
Protestant  missionaries  in  Oregon  were  laying  broad  and 
permanent  foundations,  preparing  the  soil  and  sowing  the 
gospel  seed,  which  would  have  yielded  an  abundant  and 
gracious  harvest  if  the  missionaries  had  not  been  massa- 
cred or  driven  away.  They  might  have  got  together  large 
numbers  of  the  Indians,  as  did  the  priests,  baptized  their 
children,  sprinkled  their  parents  with  holy  water,  and  re- 
ported them  as  faithful  converts  and  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  But  their  method  of  procedure  was  entirely 
different — as  widely  so  as  Protestantism  from  Romanism, 
and  the  wisdom  of  their  course  was  proved  by  its  final  results. 

Where  did  this  writer  get  his  information  about  ;j4o,ooo 
expenditure  in  a  single  year  by  Dr.  Whitman  and  his  col- 
leagues? After  the  most  diligent  search,  we  can  discover 
nothing  like  it;  everything,  indeed,  points  the  other  way, 
confirming  what  Gen.  Joe*  Palmer  says:  " In  this  lonely 
situation  they  [Spalding  and  wife]  have  spent  the  best  part 
of  their  days  for  no  other  compensation  than  a  scanty  sub- 
sistence."    Writing  of  a  visit  to  Dr.  Whitman  he  says: 

"  He  took  occasion  to  inform  us  of  many  incidents. 
Among  other  things,  he  related  that  during  his  residence 
in  this  country,  he  had  been  reduced  to  such  necessity  for 
want  of  food  as  to  be  compelled  to  slay  his  horse ;  stating 
that  within  that  period  (ten  years)  no  less  than  thirty-two 
horses  had  been  served  up  at  his  table." 


Missions  of  the  American  Board. 


"3 


To  the  same  purport  is  what  the  Sacramento  (Cal.) 
Union  published,  when  reviewing  the  labors  of  these  mis- 
sionaries :  **  All  these  results  were  accomplished  at  an  ex- 
pense to  the  American  Board  of  Missions  of  $500  per 
annum  for  each  mission  family ;  the  enterprise  and  indefot- 
igable  industry  of  the  missionaries  did  tlie  rest  with  native 
help."* 

If  necessary,  much  additional  testimony  could  be  given 
showing  that  at  the  very  time  the  missionaries  are  repre- 
sented as  having  expended  a  large  sum  of  money,  they  were 
so  poor  that  they  had  to  labor  with  their  own  hands.  We 
can  account  for  the  misstatement  only  on  one  of  two  sup- 
positions: either  the  writer  confounds  the  Methodist  mis- 
sions with  those  of  the  American  Board,  or  he  designedly 
substitutes  the  one  for  the  other  with  a  slight  change  of 
figures. 

The  Catholic  World  article  further  states  that  the  re- 
maining four  years,  "  the  years  intervening  between  this 
time  and  their  entire  discontinuance,  show  no  converts  at 
all.  Business  was  entirely  suspended,  as  far  as  spiritual 
affairs  were  concerned." 

No  proper  proof  is  given  to  sustain  this  assertion,  and 
on  the  best  documentary  evidence  wt  pronounce  it 
untrue. 

The  preceding  years  constituted  a  period  of  trial  and 
discouragement,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  serious  thoughts 
were  entertained  of  giving  up  the  stations.  But  in  the 
spring  of  1842,  affairs  took  a  much  more  favorable  turn. 
The  attendance  upon  the  schools  largely  increased;  a 
series  of  meetings  among  the  Nez  Percys  resulted  in  the 

*  Saen'amento  Union,  July  10, 1869. 


"4 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


conversion  and  admission  to  the  church  of  seven  of  their 
number;  and  the  Sabbath  congregations  among  the 
Cayuses  were  larger  and  more  attentive.  "  There  was 
abundant  evidence  that  the  truth  was  exerting  a  restraining 
influence  over  most  of  the  Indians." 

Nine  Nez  Percys  were  received  into  the  church  in  1843, 
and  it  was  then  expected  that  twenty-five  or  thirty  others 
would  be  received  in  a  short  time,  but  of  these  we  have 
no  record.  Ten  more  were  approved  for  church  fellow- 
ship in  June,  1844;  and  at  the  same  time,  200  were  in 
Sabbath-school,  and  two  prayer-meetings  were  sustained. 
Does  this  look  as  if  **  business  was  entirely  suspended,  as 
far  as  spiritual  affairs  were  concerned  "  ? 

Owing  to  the  massacre  and  the  resultant  war  with  the 
Indians  of  Oregon,  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding  was  obliged  to 
retire  from  his  mission  among  the  Nez  Percys.  But  while 
denied  the  privilege  of  direct  labors  for  them,  his  interest 
in  their  spiritual  welfare  remained  unabated.  Rev.  Dr. 
Ellinwood,  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  of  New  York,  who  has  given  special  attention  to 
this  subject,  states  that  "when  Mr.  Spalding  was  threescore 
and  ten,  he  was  permitted  to  baptize  nearly  700  persons 
in  the  three  years  ending  1874."  Does  this  look  as  if  the 
spiritual  results  of  the  mission  were  a  failure  ? 

The  author  of  this  article  in  the  Catholic  World  quotes 
further  depreciatory  evidence  from  that  unfailing  the- 
saurus, Vicar-General  Brouillet's  pamphlet.  The  first 
witness  called  is  Mr.  Thomas  McKay,  a  half-breed  inter- 
preter of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company ;  the  second,  John 
Baptist  Gervais;  the  third.  Dr.  Poujade.  We  have  not 
the  means  by  which  we  can  identify  the  last  two  men,  but 


Missions  of  the  American  Board. 


"S 


their  names  clearly  indicate  their  connection  with  the 
same  Company.  The  first  two  represent  Dr.  Whitman 
and  Mr.  Spalding  as  saying  that  they  had  ceased  to  teach 
the  Indians  because  they  would  not  listen ;  and  these  words 
are  put  into  Mr.  Spalding's  mouth :  *•  The  Indians  have 
been  getting  worse  every  day  for  two  or  three  years  back ; 
they  are  threatening  to  turn  us  out  of  the  missions.  A  few 
days  ago,  they  tore  down  my  fences ;  and  I  do  not  know 
what  the  Missionary  Board  of  New  York  means  to  do. 
It  is  a  fact  that  we  are  doing  no  good ;  when  the  emigra- 
tion passes,  the  Indians  run  off  to  trade,  and  return  worse 
than  when  we  came  among  them." 

It  must  be  conclusive  to  any  fair-minded  man  that  Mr. 
Spalding  did  not  give  Dr.  Poujade  the  information  he  says 
he  did.  It  is  simply  incredible  that  the  former  should 
speak  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Foreign 
Missions,  of  Boston,  whose  missionary  he  was,  as  "the 
Missionary  Board  of  New  York."  The  reference  is  to  the 
dissatisfaction  shown  by  some  Indians  because  the  whites 
did  not  visit  them  more  frequently  for  purposes  of  trade. 
This  we  learn  from  General  Palmer's  book,  Travels  over 
the  Rocky  Mountains."^ 

It  is  not  now  possible  to  ascertain  whether  McKay  and 
the  rest  really  stated  what  is  here  reported ;  nor  do  we 
care.  We  do  not  regard  them,  or  the  author  who  quotes 
them,  as  trustworthy.  There  is  an  abundance  of  disinter- 
ested and  reliable  testimony  accessible  to  the  public  to 
disprove  all  they  have  charged,  and  to  show  the  character 
of  the  missionaries  and  the  value  of  their  labors ;  but  we 


•P.  130. 


^ 


I 


ii6 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


have  not  space  for  a  tithe  of  it.     General  Palmer,  after  a 
visit  to  Dr.  Whitman's  station,  says: 

"  The  condition  of  the  savages  has  been  greatly  amelio- 
rated, and  their  improvement  is  chiefly  attributable  to  the 

missionary  residents They  recognize  the  change 

which  has  taken  place,  and  are  not  ignorant  that  it>has 
been  effected  by  the  efforts  and  labors  of  the  missionaries. 
....  They  have  embraced  the  Christian  religion,  and 
appear  devout  in  their  espouse'  of  Christian  doctrines. 
The  entire  time  of  the  miss^  aaries  is  devoted  to  the 
cause  for  which  they  have  forsaken  their  friends  and 
kindred.  Their  privations  and  trials  have  been  great,  bi 
they  have  borne  them  with  humility  and  meekness,  and  the 
fruits  of  their  devotion  are  now  manifest,  and  if  any  class 
of  people  deserve  well  of  their  country,  or  are  entitled  to 
the  thanks  of  a  Christian   community,  it  is  the  mission- 


aries. 


>>:|c 


Speaking  of  the  Nez  Percys  of  Mr.  Spalding's  mission, 
the  same  writer  says : 

"  They  have  made  considerable  advances  in  cultivating 
the  soil,  and  have  large  droves  of  horses,  and  many  of 
them  are  raising  large  herds  of  cattle.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Spalding  have  kept  up  a  school,  and  many  of  the  Indians 
have  made  great  proficiency  in  spelling,  reading  and  writ- 
ing. Mr.  Spalding  has  made  some  translations  from  the 
Scriptures,  and  among  others  from  the  book  of  Matthew. 
They  (the  Indians)  owe  much  of  their  superior  qualifica- 
tions to  the  missionaries  who  are  among  them.  Mr.  Spald- 
ing and  family  have  labored  among  them  for  ten  years 
assiduously,  and  the  increasing  wants  and  demands  of  the 

*  Palmer's  Traveti  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  1845,  p.  57. 


Missions  of  the  American  Board. 


117 


! 


natives  require  an  additional  amount  of  labor.  Mr.  Spald- 
ing must  now  attend  not  only  to  raising  produce  for  his 
own  family,  but  for  numerous  families  of  Indians,  to  act 
as  teacher  and  spiritual  guide,  as  physician,  etc."* 

The  Oregon  Speciaiory  in  its  issue  of  July  13,  1848,  con- 
tained an  article  from  the  pen  of  Judge  A.  E.  Wait, 
saying : 

"We  have  seen  a  disposition  to  undervalue  the  objects 
and  efforts  ol  the  missionaries.  This  is  wrong ;  and  a 
moment's  reflection  will  satisty  all  of  the  injustice  of  imput- 
ing selfish  motives  to  the  missionaries.  The  importance 
of  the  country  as  described  by  them  brought  the  citizens  of 
Oregon  here.  We  can  readily  see  what  brought  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company  here.  But  what  brought  the  mission- 
aries, who,  with  their  lives  in  their  hands,  led  the  way, 
with  their  wives,  into  the  country,  when  it  was  almost 
unknown,  and  entirely  unappreciated?  It  would  appear 
that  there  is  but  one  answer.  It  was  the  high  and  holy 
estimation  which  they  placed  upon  the  importance  of  souls, 
and  the  command  of  their  Great  Master  in  heaven." 

Later  and  valuable  evidence  is  borne  by  Mr.  J.  W. 
Anderson,  Indian  agent  for  the  Nez  Percys,  in  1862,  to 
the  good  done  by  the  Protestant  missions : 

**  Although  Mr.  Spalding  had  been  absent  from  the  tribe 
many  years,  yet  they  retained  all  the  forms  of  worship 
which  he  had  taught  them.  Many  of  them  have  prayers 
night  and  morning  in  their  lodges.  In  my  opinion,  Mr. 
Spalding,  by  his  own  personal  labors,  has  accomplished 
more  good,  in  this  tribe  than  all  the  money  expended  by 
the  government  has  been  able  to  effect." 
•p.  128. 


ii8 


7'he  Story  of  Marcus  WJiitma 


Rev.  Mr.  Eells,  writing  of  the  Nez  Perc6  and  Cayuse 
tribes  in  1855,  ^^  '^^  ^1"^^  o^  ^^^  conclusion  of  the  treaty 
of  Walla  Walla,  says : 

"All  reports  agreed  that  two  or  three  lodges  of  the 
Cayuses,  numbering  about  forty-five  persons,*  and  about 
one-<.hird  of  the  three  thousand  Nez  Percys,  had  kept  up 
regular  family  and  public  worship.  They  sang  from  the 
Nez  Perc6  hymn  book,  and  read  in  their  own  language  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew  which  had   been  furnished  them  by 

Mr.  Spalding  before  the  mission  closed Many  of 

them  kept  up  their  knowledge  of  reading  and  writing  so 
well  that  they  took  notes  at  the  council,  and  made  copies 
of  the  treaties  and  speeches,  eight  years  after  the  mission 
closed.  They  were  the  chief  agents  in  securing  a  peaceful 
council  and  the  treaty.  At  that  time  they  also  expressed  a 
strong  desire  that  religious  teachers  should  again  be  sent 
among  them." 

On  pages  16  and  17  of  the  Senate  document  we  have  the 
following  important  and  decisive  testimony  respecting  Rev. 
Mr.  Spalding,  by  Mr.  Edward  R.  Geary,  formei  Superin- 
tendent of  the  territory : 

**  His  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  native  language, 
reduced  by  him  to  a  written  state,  several  school  books 
being  prepared  and  portions  of  Scripture  translated  by 
him,  and  printed  on  the  first  press  on  this  coast,  the 
only  instance  of  the  kind,  it  is  believed,  among  the  Indian 
tribes  on  these  Pacific  shores.  These  books  are  held  at  this 
time  above  all  price  by  the  Nez  Perces. 

**  His  great,  perhaps  unparalleled  success  as  a  missionary 

*  This  tri  be  was  never  very  numeroUB,  though  wealthy  and  powerful.    It 
had  now  become  nearly  extinct. 


Missions  of  the  American  Board. 


119 


in  Christianizing  that  people  and  introducing  the  usages  of 
civilization  among  them  during  the  eleven  years  spent  with 
them,  and  until  driven  away  in  the  year  1847,  is  attested 
oy  the  superior  intelligence,  enterprise,  and  good  order 
still  characterizing  and  distinguishing  them  from  the  sur- 
rci  nding  tribes.  To  this,  hundreds  of  our  citizens,  civil 
and  military  officers,  miners,  travelers,  and  others  of  most 
reliable  character,  bear  a  uniform  testimony.  Among 
these  we  would  name  Commodore  Wilkes,  an  eye-witness 
in  1841  j  Rev.  Gustavus  Hines  in  1843,  Gen.  Joel  Palmer 
in  1846,  Colonel  Steptoe,  Agent  Anderson,  and  Governor 
Daniels  The  country,  on  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Spalding  in 
1836,  was  emphatically  a  wilderness;  uncultivated,  and 
with  not  a  hoe,  plow,  or  hoof  of  cattle;  the  savages 
starving  on  their  meagre  supply  of  roots  and  fishes,  and 
ignorant  of  letters,  of  agriculture,  of  the  Sabbath,  and  of 
human  salvation. 

"That  this  scene  should  so  soon  be  changed,  .  .t  *  desert 
to  bud  and  blossom,'  the  fields  to  wave  with  grain, 
15,000  to  20,000  bushels  of  grain  harvested  yearly  by  the 
Indians,  orchards  and  gardens  planted,  cattle  roving  in 
bands,  schools  established,  in  which  from  100  to  500  souls 
were  in  daily  attendance,  women  spinning,  over  100  pro- 
fessors adorning  the  Christian  faith,  a  church  organized 
and  family  altars  erected,  speaks  volumes  for  the  fidelity  and 
efficiency  of  Mr.  Spalding  and  his  estimable  wife." 


CHAPTER  X, 


ROMAN   CATtlOLIC  MISSIONS. 


^'*HE  author  of  the  article  in  the  Catholic  World  2&' 
signs  the  year  1838  as  the  beginning  of  the  Romish 
missions  in  Oregon,  when  Rev.  Messrs.  Blanchet  and 
Demerse  arrived  at  Walla  Walla  by  the  annual  overland 
boats  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  As  the  records  show, 
they  at  once  entered  upon  missionary  work,  passing  from 
post  to  post  of  the  Company,  being  furnished  by  its  agents 
with  every  facility  for  travel.  The  missionaries  of  the 
American  3oard  had  begun  their  work  eighteen  months 
before,  directing  all  their  efforts  to  civilize,  educate  and 
Christianize  the  Indians,  and  to  induce  them  to  give'  up 
their  roaming  habits  and  engage  in  agriculture  aud  stock- 
raising.  This  may  prove  slower  than  some  other  meth- 
ods, but  who  will  deny  that  it  is  better,  if  we  wish  to  secure 
permanent  and  valuable  results  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  the  method  pursued  by  the  Jesuit 
priests  as  described  by  Father  DeSmet,  in  his  History 
of  Roman  Catholic  Missions,  seems  to  have  consisted 
mainly,  if  not  wholly,  in  baptizing  the  Indians,  young  and 
old,  so  far  as  they  could  be  induced  to  receive  the  ordi- 
nance. On  page  32  of  this  history  we  are  told  that  "  Mr. 
Blanchet  baptized  all  the  children  that  were  brought  to 
him  in  the  course  of  his  journey;"  and  on  page  35  that 

120 


Roman  Catholic  Missions. 


121 


Mr.  Demerse  in  1841  penetrated  to  Fort  Langley,  "and 
there  baptized  700  children,  they  receiving  the  sacrament 
of  regeneration."  Bishop  Blanchet,  subsequently  writing 
about  them  to  the  Bishop  of  Quebec,  says,  "  Many  of 
them  already  enjoy  the  fruits  of  regenerating  grace." 

A  similar  scene  is  thus  described  by  Father  DeSmet : 
**  The  children  were  arranged  along  the  sea-coast ;  I  dis- 
tributed to  each  a  small  piece  of  paper  with  a  name  writ- 
ten thereon ;  and  immediately  commenced  the  ceremony. 
It  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  I  did  not 
finish  before  night.  The  new  Christians  number  102." 
On  page  59  we  have  an  account  of  the  wholesale  baptism 
of  150  more  children  by  this  same  priest,  at  another  sta- 
tion ;  and  on  page  107  we  read :  **  More  than  100  were 
presented  for  baptism,  and  eleven  old  men  were  borne  to 
me  on  skins,  who  seemed  only  waiting  the  regenerating 
waters,  to  depart  home  and  repose  in  the  bosom  of  their 
divine  Saviour."  On  page  127  it  is  recorded:  "I  admin- 
istered the  sacrament  of  baptism  to  105  persons,  among 
whom  were  twenty  adults.  An  imposing  ceremony  termi- 
nated the  exercises  of  the  day.  Amongst  a  general  salute 
from  the  camp,  a  large  cross  was  elevated."  On  pages  208 
and  209,  Father  DeSmet  describes  his  visit  to  a  tribe  of 
Indians,  the  Pointed  Hearts,  with  whom  he  remained  three 
days,  teaching  a  select  few  the  Hail  Mary,  the  Comn.and- 
ments  and  the  Apostles'  Creed.  On  the  second  day,  he 
says,  "  I  baptized  all  their  small  children  and  24  adults;" 
and  he  concludes :  * '  Nor  have  I  elsewhere  seen  more  con- 
vincing proofs  of  conversion  to  God." 

On  page  212  he  speaks  of  Rev.  Mr.  Parker  having,  in 
1836,  broken  down  a  cross  which  had  been  erected  over 


122 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


\i 


the  grave  of  a  child  by  some  Catholic  Iroquois,*  and  adds: 
**  Were  he  who  destroyed  it  to  return  now,  he  would  find 
the  image  of  Jesus  Christ  crucified,  borne  on  the  breasts  of 
more  than  4000  Indians."  He  gives  a  further  account  on 
page  224  of  baptizing  190  Indians,  and  then  again  418; 
of  500  baptized  the  year  before  ;  of  196  on  Christmas 
day  ;  then  of  350  by  Fathers  Mengarini  and  Point ;  mak- 
ing a  total  of  1654  souls,  "wrested  from  the  power  of  the 
devil." 

What  this  new  and  patent  method  of  wresting  the  sav- 
ages from  the  power 'of  the  devil  was,  let  the  same  writer 
inform  us,  as  he  does  on  page  283,  where  he  describes  the 
teaching  of  these  Jesuits :  *•' They  (the  Indians)  were  told 
that  the  Sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction  had  the  power 
not  only  to  purify  the  soul,  but  to  restore  health  to  the 
body;  it  did  not  occur  to  them  to  doubt  the  one  more 

than  the  other They  have  great  faith  in  the  sign 

of  the  cross I  saw  a  father  and  mother  bending 

over  the  cradle  of  an  only  son  who  was  about  to  die. 
They  made  their  best  efforts  to  suggest  to  him  to  make  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  and  the  child  having  raised  his  little 
hand  to  his  forehead,  made  the  consoling  sign  and  imme- 
diately expired." 

The  effect  of  such  teaching  is  thus  stated.  **It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  of  all  the  adults  who  had  not  yet 
received  baptism,  and  all  who  united  to  prepare  for  their 
first  communion,  not  one  was  judged  unworthy  to  receive 
the  sacrament.  Their  simplicity,  piety,  charity,  and  espe- 
cially their  faith,  were  admirable." 

•A  most  tinlikely  story,  resting  probably  on  the  evidence  of  w>me  half- 
breed  Catholic 


MM 


Roman  Catholic  Missions. 


123 


After  this  wholesale  method  of  making  converts  to  their 
church  had  been  pursued  for  years  by  these  priests,  travel- 
ing from  one  fort  to  another,  backed  up  by  the  powerful 
influence  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  we  are  prepared  to 
hear  Father  DeSmet  claim  that  **  6000  savages  were 
brought  within  the  fold  of  the  Christian  Church."    P.  46. 

These  labors  were  carried  on  in  this  way  during  the 
intervening  years  until  1847,  the  year  of  the  massacre;  and 
what  the  results  were  twenty-eight  years  afterwards,  we 
will  allow  Mr.  Gray  and  Colonel  Dow  to  tell  us. 

In  reply  to  the  query,  What  good  have  the  missionaries 
done  to  the  Indians?  Mr.  Gray  says:*  "  If  this  question 
applied  alone  to  the  Jesuit  missionaries  brought  to  the 
country  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  we  would  say  un- 
hesitatingly, None  at  all.  What  few  Indians  there  are  now 
\n  the  country  that  have  been  baptized  by  them,  and  have 
learned  the  religious  catechisms,  are  to-day  more  hope- 
lessly depraved,  and  are  really  poorer  and  more  degraded 
than  they  were  at  the  time  we  visited  them  twenty-two 
years  since,  looking  carefully  at  their  moral  and  pecuniary 
cond>ion  then  and  now." 

In  the  Oregon  Herald  o{  May  5,  1866,  we  find  an  arti- 
cle by  Colonel  Dow,  on  the  Roman  Catholic  Mission  of 
Coeur  d'AlSne,  spoken  of  invariably  by  Fathers  DeSmet 
and  Hoikin  as  their  most  successful  mission  west  of  the 
mountains  :  **  From  an  acquaintance  with  twelve  tribes  of 
Indians,  among  whom  the  gospel  has  been  preached,  and 
the  forms,  mysteries,  and  ceremonies  of  the  Catholic 
church  introduced,  I  have  failed  to  see  a  soul  saved,  or 
one  single  spark  of  Indian  treachery,  cruelty  or  barbarism 
•P.  593. 


124 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman* 


I  ! 


extinguished The  balance  of  their  virtues — steal- 
ing, drinking  and  supreme  laziness — they  possess  in  as 
large  a  share  as  they  did  before  the  heart  of  St.  Aldne  was 
sent  among  them.  I  would  like  to  give  a  favorable  por- 
trait of  this  mission  and  its  occupants  if  I  could.  I  would 
like  to  say  that  the  reverend  fathers  were  neat,  cleanly,  in- 
telligent, hospitable  individuals,  but  there  are  too  many  by 
whom  it  would  be  pronounced  false.  I  wculd  like  to  say 
they  were  sowing  the  secv^  of  civilization  and  cultivating 
it  successfully  in  the  untutored  mind  of  the  poor  red  man, 

but  truth  forbids I  say  not  these  things  with  any 

reference  to  the  Catholic  church  or  its  belief,  nor  am  I 
forgetful  of  what  I  have  read  of  the  Jesuits  of  St.  Bernard 
and  their  acts  of  humanity :  but  for  the  filthy,  worthless, 
superannuated  relicb  of  Italian  ignorance  who  have  posted 
themselves  midway  between  the  extremes  of  Pacific  and 
Atlantic  civilization,  acknowledging  no  law  save  that  of 
their  church,  I  have  not  the  slightest  particle  of  respect." 

One  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  (Joset),  in  the  Indian 
Sketches,^  page  6i,  confesses  that  it  took  him  nearly 
fifteen  years  to  master  the  language  of  the  tribe  far 
enough  to  **  teach  the  children  fourteen  lessons  in  the 
catechism,"  and  says  that  he  had  been  constantly  at  it 
since  his  arrival.  In  very  much  less  time  the  Protestant 
missionaries  had  translated  large  portions  of  the  Bible 
into  the  native  language,  prepared  school  books,  estab- 
lished schools  and  churches,  and  induced  the  Indians  to 
settle  and  cultivafe  land  for  their  own  support. 

The  contrast  between  the  two  methods  of  civilization 
and  their  results  is  very  marked,  but  only  what  the  history 

•  A  Roman  Catholic  publication. 


Roman  Catholic  Missions. 


125 


of  Roman  Catholicism  in  other  countries  would  lead  us  to 
expect.  What  was  to  be  looked  for  from  a  score  or  more 
of  priests  running  round  from  one  post  to  another,  admin- 
istering sacraments  wholesale  to  the  savages  and  occasion- 
ally stopping  long  enough  to  get  them  to  memorize  a  few 
lessons  from  the  Lyons  Catechism?  How  could  such  in- 
structions be  expected  to  elevate,  civilize  and  Christianize 
Indians  more  than  the  heathen  of  other  countries?  That 
they  did  not,  there  is  abundant  evidence;  yet,  were  we 
to  believe  what  the  Jesuits  have  published  about  their 
Oregon  missions,  we  should  conclude  that,  of  the  forty 
different  tribes  of  Indians  they  had  visited,  they  had 
succeeded  in  converting  nearly  all,  and  making  them 
pious,  peaceable,  humane  Christians ! 

The  testimony  as  to  the  present  and  abiding  influences 
exerted  upon  the  Indians  by  the  Protestant  missionaries  is 
abundant  and  in  striking  contrast  with  that  of  the  Roman 
Catholics.  The  last  report  of  the  Board  of  Indian  Com- 
missioners, says  Rev.  Dr.  S.  H.  Willey  in  1885,  gives  the 
following  as  the  number  of  Presbyterian  members:  Nez 
Percys,  Lapwai  221,  Kamiah  218,  Umatillas  78,  Spo- 
kanes  146,  Shokomish  44,  Dungenes  27  \  the  total,  734. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Indian  wars  followed  tlie 
massacre  for  ten  years,  and  that  it  was  not  until  1859 
that  the  Territory  was  declared  open  to  settlement,  when 
Rev.  Mr.  Spalding  hastened  back  to  the  Nez  Perc6s,  who 
eagerly  welcomed  him,  and  through  his  Christian  instruc- 
tion and  labors  694  of  the  tribe  were  received  into  the 
church. 

Another  resultant  of  the  American  Board's  mission  was 
the  founding  of  Whitman  College,  designed  as  a  memo 


126 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


rial  of  the  martyred  missionary.  Tt  stands  near  his  grave, 
and  will  perpetuate  both  his  memory  and  that  of  his  asso- 
ciate, Rev.  Dr.  Gushing  Eells,  Wno  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  institution,  which,  with  its  president  and  its  five  reg- 
ular and  four  associate  professors,  is  continuing  th.:  be- 
nevolent work  begun  more  than  half  a  century  ago. 

If  there  are  such  abiding  fruits  of  the  eady  mission 
work  with  this  fading  race,  notwithstanding  the  unpre- 
cedented difficulties  that  it  encountered,  "We  m  ty  well 
ask,"  says  Dr.  Willey,  "what  might  it  have  been  wiihout 
them?  What  would  our  missions  have  been  had  they 
been  undisturbed  and  continuous  for  all  these  years?" 

The  article  in  the  Catholic  World  proceeds  with  a  brief 
account  pf  the  Romanist  missions  in  Oregon,  but  says 
that  the  visits  of  the  Jesuit  priests  were  "few  and  far 
between  till  the  5th  of  September,  1847,"  when,  as  we 
learn  from  another  authority,  25  priests  and  15  nuns 
arrived  and  entered  vigorously  upon  mission  work  among 
the  Indians. 

This  statement,  the  reader  will  notice,  differs  widely 
from  that  given  on  page  96  of  the  History  of  Roman 
Catholic  Missions,  by  Father  DeSmet :  "The  first  mis- 
sion at  Nesqualy  was  made  by  Father  Demerse,  who  cele- 
brated the  first  mass  in  the  fort  on  April  the  2 2d,*  the 
day  after  his  arrival.  His  visit  at  such  a  time  was  forced 
upon  him  by  the  establishment  of  a  Methodist  mission 
there  for  the  Indians." 

And  on  page  104,  DeSmet  further  says  that  Rev.  Mr. 

•  This,  I  suppose,  was  in  April,  1837,  for  Gray  says  that  "  on  the  arrival 
of  Dr.  Whitman  and  party  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  sent  for  Blanchet 
.  and  Demerse  and  established  their  headquarters  at  Vancouver." 


Roman  Catholic  Missions. 


137 


Demerse's  presence  was  needed  at  Vancouver  "in  order 
to  oppose  the  efforts  Minister  Daniel  Lee  was  making 
amongst  the  Indians  at  the  fort."  The  evil  the  latter 
was  doing  is  thus  stated :  "  To  deny  the  necessity  of 
baptism  is  to  deny  the  existence  of  original  sin ;  and  to 
deny  the  existence  of  original  sin  is  to  deny  the  necessity 
of  redemption  and  to  declare  that  religion  is  a  fable,  for 
such  are  the  consequences  following  from  the  denial  of 
original  sin;  and,  alasl  such  was  nevertheless  the  hor- 
rible and  damnable  doctrine  which  the  Methodist  minis- 
ters of  Willamette  preached  to  the  Canadians." 

And  we  learn  from  Brouillet,  page  78,  that  "Fathers 
Blanchet  and  Demerse  passed  by  Walla  Walla  in  1838;  in 
1839  Father  Demerse  spent  three  weeks  in  teaching  the 
Indians  and  baptizing  their  children;  and  in  1840  he 
had  made  there  a  mission  so  fruitful  that  the  Protestant 
missionaries  had  got  alarmed.  Father  DeSmet,  after  vis- 
iting the  Flatheads  in  1840,  had  come  and  established  a 
mission  among  them  in  1841 ;  and  from  that  time  down 
to  the  arrival  of  the  Bishop,  the  Indians  of  Walla  Walla 
and  of  the  upper  Columbia  had  never  failed  to  be  vis- 
ited yearly,  either  by  Father  Demerse  or  by  some  of  the 
Jesuits." 

Confirmatory  of  this,  and  showing  the  animus  of  these 
priests  toward  Protestantism,  we  have  a  letter  of  Father 
DeSmet  to  Bishop  Blanchet,  dated  September  28,  1841, 
in  which  he  writes :  **  I  do  not  doubt  but  that  our  excel- 
lent governor.  Dr.  McLaughlin,  will  give  you  all  the 
assistance  in  his  power.  It  is  very  fortunate  for  our 
holy  religion  that  this  noble-hearted  man  should  be  at 
the  head  of  affairs  of  the  honorable  Hudson  Bay  Com- 


138 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


pany.  He  protected  it  before  our  arrival  in  these  re- 
gions. He  still  gives  it  his  support  by  word  and  example 
and  many  favors."  He  then  gives  an  account  of  the  dif- 
ferent Protestant  missions,  and  adds:  "In  the  midst  of 
so  many  adversaries  we  try  to  keep  our  ground  firmly; 
to  increase  our  nr.mbers  and  to  visit  various  parts,  par- 
ticularly where  the  danger  is  most  pressing.  We  also 
endeavor  to  anticipate  the  others  and  to  inculcate  the 
Catholic  principles  in  those  places  where  error  has  not 
yet  found  a  footing,  or  even  to  arrest  the  progress  of  evil, 
to  dry  it  up  at  its  source The  Methodist  mis- 
sions are  failing  rapidly This  spring,   Mr.  De- 

merse  withdrew  from  the  Methodists  a  whole  village  of 
savages,  situate  at  the  foot  of  the  Willamette  Falls."  * 

It  appears,  then,  that  as  early  as  1837  or  1838  priests 
were  going  about  baptizing  children,  holding  missions 
and  making  many  converts  after  their  peculiar  and  easy 
methods. 

The  object  of  placing  the  date  of  the  permanent  occu- 
pancy of  the  country  by  Romish  priests  as  late  as  1847 
is  obvious ;  it  is  to  have  the  reader  believe  that  they  were 
not  in  the  country  to  poison  the  minds  of  the  Indians 
against  the  Protestant  missionaries. 

The  article  in  the  Catholic  World  complains  that  Dr. 
Whitman  did  not  receive  these  priests  with  all  the  cor- 
diality he  should,  but  "treated  them  with  great  incivility 

and  disrespect He  refused  to  sell  provisions  to 

the  bishop,  and  protested  that  he  would  not  assist  the 
missionaries  unless  he  saw  them  in  starvation." 

So  far  as  we  can  discover,  this  charge  rests  entirely  on 


' 


Roman  Catholic  Missions. 


129 


Brouillet's  murder  pamphlet;  and  it  is  plain  that  he  had 
a  powerful  motive  to  represent  Dr.  Whitman  in  this  dis- 
courteous light.  But  even  if  Dr.  Whitman  said  and  did 
what  is  here  attributed  to  him,  was  that  a  sufficient  reason 
to  incite  the  Indians  against  him  and  those  who  fell  with 
him?  That  Dr.  Whitman  could  ever  speak  or  act  in  this 
way,  no  one  acquainted  with  him  will  believe  for  a  mo- 
ment. It  was  entirely  foreign  to  his  character  and  his 
ordinary  conduct.  Abundant  testimony  is  on  record  as 
to  his  uniform  kindness  and  unbounded  hospitality  shown 
to  all  needing  these  friendly  offices  at  his  hands. 

We  have  space  for  only  one  witness  on  this  point. 
Rev.  Myron  Eells,  son  of  one  of  the  missionaries,  in  his 
History  of  Indian  Missions^  after  speaking  of  Dr.  Whit- 
man's valuable  services  to  the  immigrants  of  1843,  ^"^ 
of  his  furnishing  them  a  guide  from  his  mission  to  the 
Dalles  free  of  cost,  says:  *  "  During  subsequent  years  the 
hands  and  heart  of  Dr.  Whitman  were  also  full  to  aid  the 
poor  .immigrant.  A  generosity  fully  equal  to  the  golden 
rule  was  usually  practiced,  so  that  sometimes  by  the  be- 
ginning of  winter  he  found  himself  almost  without  sup- 
plies   Those  too  poor  to  proceed  further  some- 
times wintered  with  him,  so  tha.t  at  the  time  of  his  mas- 
sacre there  were  seventy  persons  at  his  station 

Of  these,  seven  were  immigrant  children  whose  parents 
had  died  and  whom  he  had  adopted.  On  account  of  this 
kindness,  the  citizens  of  the  Willamette  were  probably 
more  ready  to  volunteer  in  order  to  avenge  his  death  than 
they  would  have  been  for  that  of  almost  any  other  person 
on  the  Pacific  coast." 
*  p.  182. 


♦3* 


The  3tory  of  Marcus  t0iitmaH. 


1 

1 

All  accounts  agree  that  Bishop  Blanched  arrived  at  Fort 
Walla  Walla  September  5,  1847,  2i"d  remained  until  Oc- 
tober 26,  and  while  there  met  Dr.  Whitman.  On  Octo- 
ber 26,  Towatowe  (Young  Chief),  a  Cayuse  chief,  came 
in  from  hunting,  and  Blanchet  had  an  interview  with  him, 
which  is  thus  described  in  the  pamphlet.  Murder  of  Dr. 
Whitman^  page  46:  "The  bishop  asked  him  if  he  was 
disposed  to  receive  a  priest  for  him  and  his  young  men, 
telling  him  he  could  only  give  him  one  for  the  whole 
nation;  and  if  the  Cayuses  wished  to  avail  themselves  of 
his  services,*  they  would  do  well  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing together  concerning  the  location  of  the  mis- 
sion." The  chief  told  the  b'^^hop  he  wished  a  priest, 
-«nH  "  that  he  could  take  his  house  and  as  much  land  as 
he  Wai-.  i."*  So  far  this  statement  bears  the  impress 
of  truth,  but  mark  the  proposal  which  follows  from  this 
Indian  chief;  **But  as  a  means  of  reuniting  the  Cayuses, 
who  had  been  heretofore  divided,  and  in  order  to  facili- 
tfite  their  religious  instruction,  he  suggested  the  idea  of 
estalb'jhing  the  mission  near  Dr.  Whitman's,  at  the  camp 
of  Tilokaikt,  as  there  was  more  land  there,  and  it  was 
more  central." 

"The  previous  history  of  this  chief,"  says  Gray,  "as 
was  given  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Hines,  Perkins  and  Dr.  White, 
all  goes  to  prove  that  he  never  made  such  a  suggestion ; 
and  no  one  acquainted  with  Indian  character  will  believe 
for  a  moment  that  he  did  make  it."  t 

Bishop  Blanchet,  either  because  he  was  not  satisfied 

*  The  reader  will  observe  the  willingness  of  the  Indians  to  give  their 
lands  to  missionaries, 
t  Oreffon,  p.  402. 


Roman  Catholic  Missions, 


n^ 


with  this  proposal  or  for  some  different  reason,  sent  for 
Tilokaikt,  who  was  a  relative  of  Towatowe,  on  October 
29,  and  five  days  later  a  council  was  held,  at  which  it  is 
said  the  Indians  offered  to  drive  Dr.  Whitman  away  from 
his  station  and  give  it  to  Blanchet,  but  the  bishop  de- 
clined. This  rests  on  the  statement  of  Thomas  McKay,* 
plainly  made  to  acquit  the  priests.  Whether  true  or  not, 
the  fact  remains  that  within  three  days  Brouillet  went,  by 
order  of  Bishop  Blanchet,  to  look  at  Tilokaikt's  lands 
near  Dr.  Whitman's  station;  but  the  chief  had  changed 
his  mind  and  was  not  willing  to  fulfill  his  promise  and 
give  the  land.  Brouillet  finally  accepted  Young  Chief's 
offer,  quoting  Tilokaikt,  however,  as  saying:  *'He  had 
no  other  place  to  give  me  but  that  of  Dr.  Whitman, 
whom  he  intended  to  send  away,"  and  his  own  reply: 
**I  would  not  have  the  place  of  Dr.  Whitman."  This 
Cayuse  Indian,  who  was  so  anxious  for  the  priests,  was 
engaged  in  the  massacre,  and  while  Dr.  Whitman  was 
still  breathing,  deliberately  chopped  his  face  to  pieces. 

That  the  priests  and  the  agent  of  the  Kudson  Bay  Com- 
pany wanted  Dr.  Whitman's  location,  we  have  the  evi- 
dence of  Mr.  John  Kimzey,  who  was  at  the  fort  the  same 
fall: 

**  During  my  stay  of  about  two  days,  Mr.  McBean,*}*  in 
the  presence  of  my  wife,  said :  *  The  fathers  have  offered 
to  purchase  Dr.  Whitman's  station,  but  Dr.  Whitman  has 

*  An  Indian  trader  of  some  note  in  the  mountains.  He  is  a  step-son  of 
Dr.  McLaughlin  by  an  Indian  mothe«  His  father  -was  massacred  on  the 
Tonquin.  I  have  heard  him  declare  that  he  will  yet  be  known  on  the 
coast  as  the  avenger  of  blood.— Jiournej/  Across  the  Mountains,  p.  82,  by 
John  D.  Townsend. 

t  Agent  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 


132 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


refused  to  sell.'  He  said  they  had  requested  the  doctor 
to  fix  his  own  price  and  they  would  meet  it,  but  the 
doctor  had  refused  to  sell  on  any  conditions.  I  asked 
him  who  he  meant  by  the  fathers.  He  said  :  *  The  holy 
fathers,  the  Catholic  priests.'  He  said  the  holy  fathers 
were  about  to  commence  a  mission  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Umatilla,  one  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Umatilla,  one  near 
Dr.  Whitman's  station  if  they  could  not  get  hold  of  the 
station,  one  in  several  other  places  which  I  cannot  name. 
He  said  :  *  Dr.  Whitman  would  better  leave  the  country  or 
the  Indians  will  kill  him;  we  are  determined  to  have 
his  station.'  He  further  said:  'Mr.  Spalding  will  also 
soon  have  to  leave  this  country.'  "  * 

On  November  27,  Bishop  Blancfiet,  with  his  secretary 
and  Father  Brouillet,  went  to  Umatilla,  the  place  first 
offered  by  Young  Chief  Here  he  received  a  visit  from 
Dr.  Whitman  the  next  day.  It  came  about  through  a 
request  of  two  Walla  Walla  chiefs  on  the  Umatilla  River, 
that  the  doctor  should  visit  the  sick  in  their  villages. 
Accompanied  by  Mr.  Spalding,  he  started  on  the  journey 
Saturday  evening,  November  27,  arriving  the  same  niglit 
at  the  lodge  of  Istikus,  a  friendly  chief  Crossing  the 
river  the  next  day,  he  prescribed  for  the  sick  persons 
and  afterwards  called  upon  the  priests  at  their  new  sta- 
tion. Being  anxious  about  the  sick  at  his  o^'"^  mission, 
he  soon  left  for  home  and  arrived  there  late  in  die  night 
of  the  28th  or  early  the  next  morning;  and  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  29th  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman  and  eight  others 


*  Gray,  p.  463.  Mr.  Kimzey's  deposition  is  confirmed  by  the  oath  of 
Mr.  R.  S.  Wilcox,  who  heard  the  same  or  a  similar  statement  from  Mr. 
Kimzey  in  camp  the  night  after  he  left.  Fort  Walla  WaUa. 


I 


Roman  Catholic  Missions. 


133 


were  murdered.  One  man  was  shot  on  the  30th,  coming 
from  the  mill  to  the  station;  another  escaped,  but  died 
of  exposure  or  was  killed  by  Indians;  three  children 
died ;  and  eight  days  afterwards  two  young  men  were 
killed.  Fifteen  persons  in  all  perished  in  the  mas- 
sacre. The  Indians  were  instigated  to  the  deed  by  Joe 
Stanfield,  a  Canadian  Frenchman ;  Joe  Lewis,  a  Cana- 
dian Indian;  and  Nicholas  Finlay,  a  French  half-breed — 
understood  to  be  Roman  Catholics.*  Some  of  these  took 
part  in  the  killing,  and  all  were  busy  in  plundering  the 
houses  and  property  of  the  victims. 

The  first  white  man  at  Dr.  Whitman's  station  after  the 
murders  was  Brouillet,  who  came  to  Tilokaikt's  camp  on 
the  evening  of  November  30,  between  seven  and  eight 
o'clock,  and  there  learned  of  the  massacre.  Remaining 
all  night  at  the  camp,  he  baptized  some  children  in  the 
morning  and  then  visited  the  scene  of  the  tragedy,  to 
comfort  the  survivors  and  bury  the  dead.  Leaving  on  the 
same  afternoon  for  his  own  station,  he  met  Mr.  Spalding 
on  the  way  to  Dr.  Whitman's,  informed  him  of  the  mas- 

'*'  BrouiUet  admits  that  Stanfield  was  a  Catholic,  but  denies  that  the 
others  were. 

Lewis  is  said  to  have  come  from  Canada  with  a  party  of  priests  and 
Frenchmen  in  1847,  and,  being  letl  by  them  at  Fort  Boi86,  made  his  way 
to  Dr.  Whitman's  station.  While  at  Fort  Boise  he  spoke  of  a  great  over- 
turn which  would  soon  take  place  at  Dr.  Whitman's  and  in  the  Willa- 
mette. He  made  trouble  among  the  Indians,  and  Dr.  Whitman  fur- 
nished \\\va.  with  shoes  and  clothes  and  induced  him  to  leave  with  an 
immigrant  who  needed  a  teamster.  Deserting  the  latter,  he  returned  to 
Dr.  Whitman's  and  became  a  leading  conspirator. 

Finlay  was  formerly  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and 
at  the  time  was  staying  with  the  Indians  near  the  mission.  The  mas- 
sacfe  was  planned  in  hi&  lodge,  and  he  afterwards  claimed  Mrs.  Hayes  as 
his  wife.  It  is  said  that  he  was  shot  at  last  for  murdering  a  guide  in 
(be  employ  of  a  company  of  ynit«d  Sts^tes  troops. 


134 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


sacre  and  advised  and  helped  him  to  escape.  Mr.  Spal- 
ding fled,  and  after  some  days  and  nights  of  terrible  suf- 
fering reached  his  own  station  and  joined  his  wife,  who  in 
the  meantime  *'had  been  protected  from  all  harm,"  says 
Mrs.  Victor,  "by  the  faithful  Nez  Percys," 

Three  of  the  women  who  were  sparet.'  from  the  slaughter 
were  treated  with  fiendish  cruelty  '-v  Indians;   and 


those  who  survived,  as  also  the 
ransomed. 


.  .uiJ'.cn,  were  finally 


CHAPTER  XI. 


PROLONGED  CONTROVERSY  OVER   THE  MASSACRE. 


IN  defending  themselves  from  the  charge  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  Whitman  massacre,  the  accused  parties 
offered  first  the  testimony  of  an  Indian  who  was  present 
at  the  massacre,  as  related  by  one  R.  T.  Lockwood,  who 
elicited  it  by  questioning.  It  is  used  to  prove  that  the 
Indians  had  already  determined  to  kill  Dr.  Whitman,  be- 
fore the  priests  came  and  attempted  to  get  possession  of 
his  station. 

The  Catholic  World  article  describes  Mr.  Lockwood  as 
"an  old  resident  of  Oregon."  This  is  not  strictly  true, 
as  he  only  came  to  the  State  in  1851,  and  consequently 
was  not  a  resident  at  the  time  of  the  murder.  His  moral 
status  and  his  credibility  as  a  witness  we  have  not  the 
means  of  verifying. 

In  a  letter  to  Vicar-General  Brouillet,  published  in  the 
Catholic  Sentinel^  we  have  Mr.  Lockwood's  statement  at 
much  greater  length  than  in  the  article  under  review. 
At  best  it  is  but  hearsay  evidence,  and  from  an  Indian 
who  may  or  may  not  have  had  a  share  in  the  crime  him- 
self, and  who  naturally  wished  to  exculpate  his  fellows. 
There  is  nothing  new  or  important  in  his  testimony,  as 
he  tells  the  usual  story  about  the  Protestant  missionaries 

135 


136 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


depriving  the  Indians  of  their  lands,*  etc.  Mr.  Lock- 
wood  is  clearly  a  willing  witness,  and  his  testimony  was 
drawn  from  him  by  Brouillet  for  the  purpose  oi  shielding 
the  Romish  priests. 

This  same  letter  of  Lockwood's  contains  the  statement 
also  of  a  Mrs.  Foster,  "one  of  the  survivors"  of  the  mur- 
der, who  expresses  the  opinion  that  Blanchet  did  not  have 
anything  to  do  with  the  murd**'*,  and  says  that  he  "was 
very  kind  and  tender  toward  the  survivors."  The  most 
ever  asserted  has  been  that  the  priests,  by  their  teachings 
and  by  their  representations  of  the  character  and  purposes 
of  the  Protestant  missionaries,  inflamed  the  minds  of  the 
Indians  and  excited  their  animosity — not  that  they  were 
personally  implicated  in  tlie  crime.  How  competent  this 
witness  is,  and  what  motives  induced  her  to  express  her 
favorable  opinion,  the  reader  must  judge  for  himself; 
especially  in  view  of  the  sworn  evidence,  ahv-ady  ad- 
duced, that  the  priests  did  warn  the  Indians  against  Dr. 
Whitman  and  the  religion  he  was  teaching  them,  f 

•  As  to  the  value  to  be  placed,  in  such  circumstances,  on  the  testimony 
of  an  Indian,  let  us  hear  what  Mr.  Brouillet  says  on  page  86  of  his  account 
of  the  murder.  He  is  speaking  of  the  reports  made  by  two  Indians  to 
Rev.  Mr.  Spalding,  that  the  priests  had  told  the  Indians  that  the  Protes- 
tant missionaries  were  poisoning  them,  and  says:  "Those  reports  can  be 
of  no  credit,  and  prove  nothing  in  the  case.  If  in  most  parts  of  the  States 
of  the  Union  the  testimony  of  Indians  is  never  admitted  as  proof  against 
the  whites  in  any  court  of  justice,  it  would  be  here  inconsistent  to  make 
it  the  basis  of  public  opinion."  This  is  all  very  well ;  but  why  not  apply 
the  same  rule  in  all  similar  cases?  In  this  very  incianoe  the  statements 
of  Indians  are  brought  out  by  this  Mr.  Lockwood  to  prove  that  the  In- 
dians had  resolved  upon  killing  Dr.  Whitman  before  the  priests  came 
into  that  part  of  the  country.  The  impartial  reader  will  ask :  "  Is  such 
testimony  onlj  valuable  when  it  c?n  be  used  to  vilify  Protestant  and  ex- 
culpate Roman  Catholic  missionaries?" 

t  Since  the  above  was  written,  a  friend  has  sent  me  a  copy  of  the  Min- 
uiea  of  the  Congregational  Association  of  Oregon  and,  Washington  for 


Prolonged  Controversy  over  the  Massacre,         137 


The  accused  parties  allege,  as  a  second  cause  of  the 
massacre,  the  broken  promises  of  Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  who 
told  the  Indians,  when  selecting  mission  stations,  that  he 
would  pay  for  the  lands  occupied,  and  that,  besides,  the 
Indians  should  receive  a  ship-load  of  goods  yearly.  These 
promises  had  not  been  fulfilled,  they  say,  but  Dr.  Whit- 
man had  appropriated  their  lands  without  right  or  com- 
pensation J  hence  the  distrust  and  anger  of  the  Indians, 
and  their  desire  to  requite  the  bad  faith  of  the  mission- 
aries. 

This  will  be  recognized  as  the  old,  old  story,  resting 
on  no  better  basis  than  "old"  John  Toupin,  quoted 
from  Brouillet's  murder  pamphlet,  and  already  shown  to 
be  unreliable.  In  consonance  with  it,  earnest  efforts 
were  made  to  defame  the  character  of  Dr.  Whitman,  in 

lS8t,  which  contains  the  statement  of  a  delegation  of  Umatilla  Indians, 
made  by  their  friend  and  interpreter,  Dr.  "William  McKay.  These  In- 
dians were  from  the  reservation  to  which  the  Cayuses  were  removed  by 
the  United  States  government.  Their  visit  to  the  Association  was  to  se- 
cure its  influence  to  procure  a  section  of  land  from  the  government  for 
the  Protestant  part  of  the  tribe,  f^r  church  and  school  purposes,  the  same 
as  the  Catholics  expect  to  obtain. 

Dr.  McKay  says  that  "there  is  a  large  and  increasing  number  of  these 
Indians,  who  have  declared  and  do  declare  their  faith  in  the  teachings 
given  them  by  Marcus  Whitman,  M.  D. ;  that  they  have  always  remem- 
bered them,  and  they  have  held  meetings  among  themselves  to  talk 
about  these  things;  that  they  have  not  been  satisfied  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  teachings  given  on  the  reservation;  that  thirty  of  ihem  have 
been  baptized  and  a  church  organized ,  that  they  now  have  regular  Sab- 
bath meetings  and  worship ;  that  they  suffer  opposition  since  they  have 
held  their  own  meetings;  that  they  are  denounced  as  Americans,  and 
doomed  to  hrll  for  claiming  these  rights  of  conscience,  for  withdrawing 
from  the  teachers  set  over  them  and  for  protesting  against  their  teach- 
ings; that  they  are  denounced  for  sending  their  children  to  the  Govern- 
ment Industrial  Training  School  at  Forest  Grove  and  told  that  it  is  a 
bad  school;  that  their  daughters  will  be  ruined;  that  it  is  an  American 
school  and  all  who  favor  it  will  be  lost." 


m 


Sir 


138 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


order  to  show  that  he  was  capable  of  the  perfidious  acts 
here  charged.  To  this  end,  the  writer  in  the  Catholic 
World  quotes  the  following  paragraph  from  Mr.  Gray, 
whom  he  is  careful  to  describe  to  his  readers  as  a 
*  *  brother  missionary  "  *  of  Dr.  Whitman,  the  abject  of 
the  sketch: 

"A  man  of  easy,  don't-care  habits,  that  could  become 
all  things  to  all  men,  and  yet  a  sincere  and  earnest  man, 
speaking  his  mind  before  he  thought  the  second  time, 
giving  his  views  on  all  subjects  without  much  considera- 
tion, correcting  them  when  good  reasons  were  presented, 
yet,  when  fixed  in  the  pursuit  of  an  object,  adhering  to  it 
with  unflinching  tenacity.  A  stranger  would  consider  him 
fickle  and  stubborn^ 

Here,  again,  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  defective 
casuistry  of  this  Jesuit  writer,  in  the  shape  of  a  badly 
garbled  quotation.  The  italics  are  not  Gray's,  but  the 
writer's.  There  is,  moreover,  a  break  in  the  sentence, 
and  the  quotation  leaves  off  just  where  Mr.  Gray  brings 
out  the  good  features  of  Dr.  Whitman's  character.  The 
rest  of  the  paragraph  is  as  follows : 

"A  stranger  would  consider  him  fickle  and  stubborn, 
yet  he  v/as  sincere  and  kind  and  generous  to  a  fault,  de- 
voting every  energy  of  his  mind  and  body  to  the  welfare 
of  the  Indians  and  objects  of  the  mission."  f 

Had  the  writer  honestly  presented  the  entire  sentence 
it  would  have  ruined  the  object  for  which  it  was  quoted, 
for  it  shows  that  those  who  knew  Dr.  Whitman  best 
esteemed  him  most. 

*  Financial  agent  of  the  miBaions. 
t  Oregon,  p.  108. 


Prolonged  Controversy  over  the  Massacre,         139 


:e 

:e 
i, 

St 


Hon.  Peter  H.  Burnett,  the  first  governor  of  California 
and  a  Catholic,  in  his  Recollections  and  Opinions  of  an 
Old  Pioneer y  page  249,  gives  us  his  impressions  of  Dr. 
Whitman's  character : 

"I  consider  Dr.  Whitman  to  have  been  a  brave,  kind, 
devoted  and  intrepid  spirit,  without  malice  and  without 
reproach.  In  my  best  judgment,  he  made  greater  sacri- 
fices, endured  more  hardships  and  encountered  more 
perils  for  Oregon  than  any  other  one  man ;  and  his  ser- 
vices were  practically  more  efficient  than  thc^^e  of  any 
other,  except,  perhaps,  those  of  Dr.  Linn,  Uniicd  States 
senator  from  Missouri.  I  sd^y perhaps,  for  I  am  in  doubt 
as*  to  which  of  these  two  men  did  more  in  effect  for 
Oregon."      . 

The  next  quotation  by  this  writer  (in  the  Catholic 
World')  is  from  Mrs.  Victor's  River  of  the  West:* 

"The  Americans  had  done  them  much  harm.  Years 
before,  had  not  one  of  their  missionaries  suffered  several 
of  their  people  and  the  son  of  their  chief  to  be  slain  in 
his  company,  yet  himself  escaped  ?  Had  not  the  son  of 
another  chief  (Elijah),  who  had  gone  to  California  to  buy 
cattle,  been  killed  by  Americans  for  no  fault  of  his  own? 
....  So  far  as  regarded  the  missionaries,  Dr.  Whitman 
and  his  associates,  they  were  divided ;  yet  so  many  looked 
on  the  doctor  as  an  agent  in  promoting  the  settlement  of 
the  country  with  whites,  it  was  thought  best  to  drive  him 
from  the  country,  together  with  all  the  missionaries,  sev- 
eral years  before.  Dr.  Whitman  had  known  that  the 
Indians  were  displeased  with  his  settlement  among  them. 
They  had  told  him  of  it ;  they  had  treated  him  with 
*  P.  400. 


m 


'■m 


140 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


f     'I 


violence;  they  had  attempted  to  outrage  his  wife,  had 
burned  his  property,  and  had  several  times  warned  him 
to  leave  their  country  or  they  should  kill  him." 

We  do  not  know  the  source  of  Mrs.  Victor's  informa- 
tion. She  was  not  a  resident  of  Oregon,  and  had  no 
personal  knowledge  of  what  she  states.  It  was  probably 
derived  from  Brouillet,  or  J.  Ross  Browne's  report,  or 
some  similar  source. 

This  authority  is  again  misquoted.  "Several  years  be- 
fo-^,"  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  sentence,  belongs  to  the 
fifth,  commencing  "Dr.  Whitman  had  known,"  etc.; 
and  the  italics  are  not  the  author's.  Here  we  have  an- 
other specimen  of  "  the  end  justifying  the  means."  This 
only  serves  to  make  the  object  clearer  for  which  the  quo- 
tation was  made. 

Mr.  Gray  says :  * 

"The  Nez  Perc6  chief  was  killed  in  open  fight  with  the 
Sioux,  on  Platte  River,  after  *he  party  had  fought  three 
hours  and  killed  fifteen  and  wounded  eight  of  the  Sioux. 
He  was  no  connection  of  this  Cayuse  tribe,  and  only  re- 
ferred to  here  for  effect." 

The  chief  Elijah,  the  writer  says,  was  "killed  by  Amer- 
icans for  no  fault  of  his  own."  The  facts  are  that  he  and 
other  Indians  went  to  California  to  steal  horses  and  cattle. 
They  ran  off  some  horses  belonging  to  Spaniards  and 
Americans,  first  killing  the  Indian  guards  in  charge  of 
them.  Elijah  and  Young  Chief  were  apprehended  for 
the  crime  and  tried  by  a  military  court.  Young  Chief 
was  acquitted  on  the  evidence  of  an  American  whose  life 


*  Oregon,  p.  507. 


Prolonged  Controversy  over  the  Massacre.         141 


he  had  saved  at  the  time  the  horses  were  stolen,  while 
Elijah  was  shot  to  prevent  similar  raids. 

That  this  event  had  no  connection  with  the  massacre 
is  very  evident.  The  chief  killed  was  a  son  of  Yellow 
Serpent,  of  the  Walla  Walla  tribe.  These  Indians  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  massacre,  and  according  to  Mrs. 
Victor,  page  415,  were  the  only  Indians  who  showed  any 
kindness  to  the  Americans  on  that  dreadful  day.  Mr. 
McBean  also  states  that  the  Walla  Walla  chief  took  no 
part  in  the  murder. 

We  are  aware  that  afterwards,  when  a  council  of  the 
Indians  assembled  to  devise  measures  to  prevent  a  war 
with  the  Americans,  and  for  this  purpose  sent  a  letter  to 
them,  the  Cayuse  chiefs  referred  to  the  death  of  Elijah 
as  one  of  the  wrongs  they  had  suffered,  and  proposed  to 
forget  it  if  the  Americans  would  not  punish  them  for  the 
murders  at  Waiilatpu.  This  was  clearly  an  afterthought 
on  their  part,  and  perhaps  suggested  by  others;  and  it 
only  shows  how  destitute  they  were  of  better  reasons  for 
the  act. 

The  object  of  Brouillet,  who  gives  this  matter  more 
fully,  and  from  whom  Mrs.  Victor  most  likely  gained  her 
knowledge,  was  to  explain  or  justify  the  Whitman  mas- 
sacre. In  this  he  so  far  misleads  his  readers  as  to  the 
real  causes.  The  origin  of  the  unfriendly  feelings  by 
some  Indians  toward  Dr.  Whitman  is  clearly  stated  by 
William  Geiger,  Jr.,  who  was  left  in  charge  of  the  mis- 
sion station  while  Dr.  Whitman  was  absent  at  Washing- 
ton: 

"  While  he  was  go  fie  I  was  in  charge  of  his  station  among 
the  Cayuse  Indians,  who  informed  me  on  many  occasions 


142 


The  Story  of  Mar  cm  Whitman. 


that  the  priests  and  half-breeds  were  urgent  that  they 
should  drive  Mr.  Spalding  and  Dr.  Whitman  out  oi  the 
country,  so  that  they  (the  priests)  could  occupy  the  coun- 
try and  the  places  of  Whitman  and  Spalding.  I  asked 
them  on  many  different  occasions  if  they  wanted  Messrs. 
Spalding  and  Whitman  to  leave  their  country  after  they 
had  been  there  so  long  and  taught  them  so  much,  both 
in  religion  and  civilization,  and  cultivating  the  soil,  etc. 
They  answered :  *  Oh,  no ;  it  is  the  priests  that  are  con- 
tinually desiring  us  to  drive  them  away.* 

"And,  again,  in  1846,  the  priests  became  very  urgent, 
and  the  Catholic  Indians  became  so  noisy  about  the-  mat- 
ter that  the  tribe  held  a  great  council  about  it.  Dr. 
Whitman  made  them  a  speech.  He  told  them  his  locks 
were  getting  gray.  He  had  spent  his  best  days  in  try- 
ing to  do  them  good,  but  if  they  wished  him  to  leave 
he  would  be  ready  to  leave  in  two  weeks. 

**  After  three  hours  of  conference  they  made  their  reply 
as  follows : 

"  'When  you  first  came  to  our  country  we  knew  nothing 
about  cultivating  the  land  and  making  a  living  in  that 
way.  We  had  no  cattle,  hogs,  plows  or  hoes.  Now  we 
have  all  these,  that  you  have  assisted  us  to  procure  and 
taught  us  to  use.  Before  you  came  we  were  always  hun- 
gry in  the  winter;  now  we  have  plenty  to  eat  and  to 
spare.  Formerly  we  knew  but  little  of  God;  now  we 
worship  him  every  day  in  our  families.  After  receiving 
so  much  we  do  not  wish  you  to  leave  us,  but  to  stay  with 
us  as  long  as  you  live  and  occupy  the  place  that  you  now 
occupy. 


M 


Prolonged  Controversy  over  the  Massacre,         143 


Another  form  of  this  charge  was  that  the  missionaries 
were  taking  away  the  lands  of  the  Indians. 

"The  fulfillment  of  the  laws  which  the  agent  recom- 
mended for  their  adoption  ....  occasioned  suspicions 
in  the  minds  of  the  Indians  generally  that  the  whites  de- 
signed the  ultimate  subjugation  of  their  tribes.  They  saw 
in  the  laws  they  had  adopted  a  deep-laid  scheme  of  the 
whites  to  destroy  them  and  take  possession  of  their  coun- 
try. The  arrival  of  a  large  party  of  immigrants  about  this 
time,  and  the  sudden  departure  of  Dr.  Whitman  to  the 
United  States  with  the  avowed  intention  of  bringing  back 
with  him  as  many  as  he  could  enlist  for  Oregon,  served 

to  hasten  them  to  the  above   conclusions The 

great  complaint  of  the  Indians  was  that  the  Boston  people 
(Americans)  designed  to  take  away  their  lands  and  reduce 
them  to  slavery." 

As  this  has  been  already  refuted,  it  is  sufficient  to  refer 
again  to  the  well-known  fact  that  in  1832  Indians  came  to 
St.  Louis,  pleading  for  missionaries ;  to  their  earnest  en- 
treaties of  Rev.  Mr.  Parker  in  1835,  when  he  visited  these 
and  other  tribes,  that  he  would  send  them  teachers;  to 
their  offer  of  lands  to  the  priests ;  and  to  the  testimony  of 
Mr.  Gray,  who  l',.;<'  so  long  among  them  and  who  says 
there  was  not  a  baud  or  tribe  but  was  ready  to  give  land 
to  any  white  settler.  There  is  proof  positive,  moreover, 
that  the  missionaries  did  not  take  nor  use  more  land  than 
was  necessary  for  missionary  purposes ;  but  that  the  minds 
of  the  Indians  were  inflamed  by  such  tales,  there  is  no 
question. 

The  same  author,  Mrs.  Victor,  just  quoted  as  authority 
to  disparage  the  missionaries,  says,  pages  327  and  329: 


;    ^1 


'1 


N!  Ill     > 


¥  I 


144 


Thf  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


"Dorio*  (Baptiste),  a  half-breed,  being  well  informed 
in  Indian  sentiments  and  influential  as  an  interpreter 
among  them,  had  wickedly  inflamed  the  passions  of  the 
Indians  by  representing  to  them  that  it  was  useless  making 
farms  and  building  houses,  as  in  a  short  time  the  whites 
would  overruii  their  land  and  destroy  everything,  besides 
killing  them.f  ....  The  wicked  Dorio  still  continued 
to  poison  their  minds,  and  to  stir  up  all  the  native  selfish- 
ness and  jealousy  of  the  Indian  character." 

We  have  the  testimony  of  Chief  Joseph  also,  showing 
the  high  esteem  in  which  the  mis  'onaries  were  held  by 
most  of  the  Indians;  and  that  t  had  not  said  "any- 
thing about  white  men  wanting  to  settle  on  our  lands." 

The  third  line  of  deferse  is,  that  the  massacre  was 
caused  by  the  Indians'  belief  that  Dr.  Whitman  was  poison- 
ing them.  To  substantiate  this  the  writer  in  the  Catholic 
World  quotes  from  a  letter  of  Sir  James  Douglas,  chief 
factor  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  written  after  the 
massacre,  to  S.  N.  Castle,  Esq. ,  of  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

**  He  hoped  that  time  and  instruction  would  produce 
a  change  of  mind — a  better  state  of  feeling  toward  the 
mission,  and  he  might  have  lived  to  see  his  hopes 
redized,  had  not  the  measles  and  dysc  ntery,  following  in 
the  train  of  immigrants  from  the  United  States,  made 
frightful  ravages  this  year  in  the  upper  country.  Many 
Indians  have  been  carried  off  through  the  violence  of  the 
diseases,  and  others  through  their  own  imprudence.  The 
Cayuse  Indians  of  Waiilatpu,  being  sufferers  in  this  general 
calamity,  were   incensed   against   Dr.   Whitman   for  not 

*  A  Hudson  Bay  Interpreter  and  a  leader  of  the  half-breeds, 
t  Hines*  Oregon  confirms  this  statement  of  Mrs.  Victor. 


Prolonged  Controversy  over  the  Massacre.         145 


exerting  his  supposed  supernatural  power  in  saving  their 
lives.  They  carried  this  absurdity  beyond  the  point  of 
folly.  Their  superstitious  minds  became  possessed  of  the 
horrible  suspicion  that  he  was  giving  poison  to  the  sick, 
instead  of  wholesome  medicine,  with  the  view  of  working 
the  destruction  of  the  tribe,  his  former  cruelty  probably 
adding  strength  to  their  suspicions.  Still,  some  of  the 
reflecting  had  confidence  in  Dr.  Whitman's  integrity,  and 
it  was  agreed  to  test  the  effects  of  the  medicme  he  had 
furnisht  .,  on  three  of  their  people,  one  of  whom  was  said 
to  be  in  perfect  health.  They  unfortunately  died,  and 
from  that  moment  it  was  resolved  to  destroy  the  mission. 
It  was  immediately  after  burying  the  remains  of  these  three 
persons  that  they  repaired  to  the  mission  and  murdered 
every  man  found  there." 

The  information  given  in  this  letter  was  procured 
through  Agent  McBean,  in  charge  of  Fort  Nez  Perc6. 
Another  agent  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  call  McJean  "a  scoundrel;"  and  McBean *s  knowl- 
edge, it  appears,  was  obtained  from  Brouillet.  It  was  sent 
to  Douglas  by  McBean 's  interpreter,  who  was  at  the  mis- 
sion when  the  massacre  occurred,  and  was  kept  there  until 
Brouillet  had  prepared  an  account  of  it  for  transmission  to 
McBean,  which  account  he  carried  to  Sir  James  Douglas 
at  Fort  Vancouver.  The  same  man  was  entrusted  also 
with  the  secret  knowledge  that  three  parties  of  Indians 
were  about  to  start  to  destroy  all  the  other  Protestant  mis- 
sions and  American  settlements  in  middle  Oregon,  includ- 
ing that  at  the  Dalles ;  and  his  instructions  were  that  he 
might  inform  the  Indians,  but  not  the  whites,  of  what  had 
been  and  what  was  to  be  done. 


,•9 


ml 


liM 


1 1 


I 


146 


Thf  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


Hon.  A.  Hinman  accompanied  the  interpreter  from  the 
Dalles,  not  knowing  the  real  purpose  of  his  visit  to  Fort 
Vancouver.  He  testifies  that  they  were  thirty  miles  from 
the  fort  when  McBean's  interpreter  for  the  first  time  made 
known  to  him  what  had  occurred,  and  confessed  that  "  the 
priests,  McBean,  and  he  were  bad  in  trying  to  deceive 
him,  and  have  his  family  and  people  killed  by  the 
Indians." 

Arriving  at  Vancouver,  they  went  to  Mr.  Ogden's  room 
and  informed  him  cf  the  massacre.  His  exclamation  was: 
"Mr.  Hinman,  you  can  ncv*  see  what  opposition  in  re- 
ligion will  do."  The  three  then  repj^ired  to  Siir  James 
Douglas'  room  and  told  him  of  the  crime  that  had  been 
committed,  wlicn  Mr.  Ogden  repeated  what  he  had  pre- 
viously said  to  Mr.  Hinman.  Douglas  replied,  "  There 
may  be  other  causes." 

We  have  a  more  extended  account  of  this  matter  on 
p.  40  of  Senate  Executive  Document  j/,  being  a  sworn 
statement  made  by  Mr.  Hinman  in  April,  1849.  This 
says  that  the  Frenchman — McBean's  interpreter  and  mes- 
senger— gave  as  his  reason  for  not  telling  the  whites : 
"The  priests  tell  me  not  to  tell  you  and  Americans  at 
Dalles.     If  I  tell  you,  they  no  pardon  my  sins." 

On  going  to  Douglas*  office  Mr.  Ogden  said :  "  There, 
see  what  a  war  in  religion  has  done.  The  good  Doctor  is 
dead.     I  knew  there  would  be  trouble  when  those  priests 


went  up. 


>> 


The  letters  concerning  the  massacre  were  then  read, 
and  also  the  plans  for  killing  other  Americans,  including 
those  at  the  Dalles,  Mr.  Hinman's  place  of  residence. 
When  Hinman  asked  why  the  Frenchman  was  forbidden 


!Ml 


prolonged  Controversy  over  the  Massacre.         147 


at 


to  tell  him,  Douglas  replied:  "You  must  remember,  that 
man  was  in  trying  circumstances." 

We  fail  to  understand  what  is  meant  by  this,  except  that 
there  was  a  conflict  between  the  Frenchman's  humanity 
and  McBean's  inhumanity;  for  Mr.  Hinman  explicitly 
states  that  the  Frenchman  said  to  him  :  "  Mr.  McBean  told 
him  to  say  nothing  about  it  to  them  at  the  Dalles," 

When  the  Indians,  who  heard  the  news  from  the  French 
messenger,  told  the  whites  at  the  Dalles,  which  they 
did  after  the  messenger  left,  the  whites  could  not  believe 
it ;  for  the  messenger  himself  had  told  Dr.  Whitman's 
nephew  and  others  that  he  had  not  seen  Dr.  Whitman  for 
two  weeks. 

McBean's  letter  to  Sir  James  Douglas  was  afterwards 
demanded,  and  published  in  the  Oregon  Spectator  of 
December  10,  1847.  As  it  appeared  there,  the  alleged 
cause  of  the  murder  is  more  specifically  stated.  It  is 
attributed  solely  to  the  belief  that  Dr.  Whitman  was  pois- 
oning the  Indians  for  the  purpose  of  securing  their  lands ; 
and  the  letter  further  gives  currency  to  the  story  of  a  Mr. 
Rogers,  who,  in  order  to  save  his  own  life,  had  told  the 
Indii  >s  that  he  once  heard  Dr.  Whitman  and  Mr.  Spald- 
ing revising  measures  to  kill  them  off,  and  thus  get  posses- 
sion of  their  lands,  cattle  and  horses. 

The  charges  are  clearly  disbelieved  by  th*^  writer  himself, 
and  have  all  been  proven  false  by  those  present  at  the  mas- 
sacre. After  giving  them  as  current  stories,  the  letter 
adds :  "  These  are  only  Indian  reports,  and  no  person  can 
believe  the  Doctor  capable  of  such  an  action,  without  being 
as  ignorant  and  brutish  as  the  Indians  themselves." 

Why,   then,   circulate    them?     They  had    no    better 


s.  i 


.  1 


m 


>:■     1 


III 


r 

148 


Thg  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


.foundation  than  that  they  were  told  by  Stanfield,  Joe 
Lewis  and  Finlay.  It  is  plain  that  they  were  given  this 
wide  currency  for  an  evil  purpose. 

Sir  James  Douglas  wrote  briefly  to  Governor  Abernethy 
on  December  7, 1847,  informing  him  of  the  massacre ;  and 
sending  with  his  own  letter  that  of  McBean.  He  wrote 
again  on  December  9,  to  S.  N.  Castle,  Esq.,  Sandwich 
Islands,  an  account  for  the  outside  world.  The  last  letter 
is  much  fuller,  and  gives  more  extended  information  than 
was  contained  in  the  McBean  letter.  As  we  have  before 
stated,  it  assigns  the  reason  why  the  Indians  murdered  the 
missionaries,  and  repeats  Rogers*  statement,  or  what  was 
reported  as  such.  Here  again  the  object  is  plainly  to 
divert  all  suspicion  from  the  priests  and  from  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company. 

Where  did  Sir  James  Douglas  get  this  additional  infor- 
mation? Undoubtedly  from  Brouillet.  He  could  have 
procured  it  from  no  other  source,  and  at  no  other  time ; 
for  the  interval  between  his  two  letters  was  only  two  days. 
The  conviction  is  therefore  forced  upo  i  us  that  Brouillet 
prepared  this  account  the  night  after  the  massacre,  and 
before  the  dead  were  buried,  for  the  purpose  of  diverting 
the  suspicion  which  the  public  were  sure  to  fasten  upon 
the  priests. 

Mr.  Gray  says  that  there  have  *'  always  been  strenuous 
efforts  to  prevent  open  discussion  of  that  transaction." 
Sir  Jamer.  Douglas,  it  appears,  procured  from  McBean  a 
summary  of  what  had  taken  place,  while  Brouillet  furnished 
him  a  more  carefully  prepared  account,  which  reflected 
severely  and  unjustly  upon  Dr.  Whitman  and  the  other 
missionaries,   and  which  was  sent  to  Mr.   Castle.     The 


Prolonged  Controversy  over  the  Massacre.         149 

transaction,  moreover,  shows  how  great  was  the  intimacy 
between  Sir  James  and  Brouillet,  and  the  Romish  priests 
and  the  agents  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  It  is  by 
such  methods  as  these  that  Douglas,  Brouillet  and  Ross 
Browne  furnish  the  public  with  a  "  history  of  Protestant 
missions." 

Sir  James  Douglas,  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Castle,  refers  to 
**  the  horrible  suspicion  "  of  the  Indians  that  Dr.  Whitman 
**  was  giving  poison  to  the  sick,  instead  of  wholesome  medi- 
cine," and  says  that  they  selected  three  of  their  number 
**to  test  the  effects  of  the  medicine,"  and  these  dying 
under  the  treatment,  they  then  "  resolved  to  destroy  the 
mission."  Douglas  depended  on  McBean  and  Brouillet 
for  his  information ;  and  the  latter  has  improved  on  this 
in  bis  own  pamphlet,  where  he  gives  as  one  of  the  reasons 
for  killing  Dr.  Whitman  that  he  was  a  physician,  and  the 
Indians  were  accustomed  to  kill  their  medicine  men  when 
their  patients  died  und<  '•  their  treatment,  unless  a  large 
sum  of  money  was  paid  lo  their  friends.  He  would  have 
the  reader  infer  that  the  Indians  looked  upon  Dr.  Whit- 
man as  one  of  their  medicine  men  ;  yet  there  is  not  a  par- 
ticle of  evidence,  nor  does  Brouillet  attempt  to  bring  for- 
ward any,  that  the  Indians  re;yarded  the  Doctor  in  such  a 
light. 

Equally  unfounded  are  Douglas'  assertions  that  the 
Indians  **  were  incensed  against  Dr.  Whitman  for  not 
exerting  his  supposed  supernatural  power  in  saving  thei 
lives;"  and  that  "his  former  cruelty  probably  added 
strength  to  their  suspicions"  respecting  the  poison.  The 
former  assertion  lacks  all  semblance  of  proof;  and  the 
latter  could  only  be  made  by  persons  willing  to  defame 


•  \ 


'■'  k) 


V 


ISO 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


Dr.  Whitman,  since  his  entire  life  is  a  refutation  of  the 
accusation  of  cruelty,  and  all  his  acquaintances  testify  that 
his  humanity  and  generosity  to  the  poor  and  suffering  were 
unbounded. 

If  these  writers  had  assigned  the  sickness  and  mortality 
which  prevailed  among  the  Indians  as  the  reason  of  their 
hostility  to  the  Americans,  it  would  have  been  more 
plausible.  It  was  a  well-known  fact  that  both  measles  and 
dysentery  were  introduced  among  them  by  the  immigrants 
passing  through  their  country ;  and  in  view  of  their  mode 
of  treating  their  sick,  it  is  not  surprising  that  so  many  died 
of  these  diseases.  Their  usual  method  of  treatment  was 
either  to  sweat  a  patient  and  then  have  him  plunge  into 
the  river,  or  to  have  the  medicine  men  hold  their  hands  in 
very  cold  water  and  then  apply  them  to  the  patient. 
Besides  this,  the  sick  were  exposed  to  chilling  rains. 
These  facts  readily  account  for  the  fatality  which  attended 
an  epidemic  among  them,  without  resorting  to  a  cruel  and 
unsupported  charge  of  poisoning. 

That  the  fear  caused  by  the  occurrence  of  so  many 
deaths  may  have  had  and  most  likely  did  have  some  influ- 
ence in  precipitating  the  massacre,  can  be  admitted  with- 
out prejudice  to  the  missionaries.  At  all  events  it  afforded 
an  opportunity  to  excite  the  suspicions  of  the  Indians  and 
inflame  any  existing  hostility.  This  seems  to  have  been 
the  opinion  of  Brouillet,  for  he  gives  in  his  pamphlet  de- 
tailed statements,  from  several  sources,  of  the  ravages  of  the 
imported  diseases  among  the  Cayuses. 

Justice,  however,  requires  that  we  state  what  Mr.  Brouil- 
let does  not,  that  the  measles  and  dysentery  raged  just  as 
extensively  and  fatally  among  the  Indians  around  Fort 


Prolonged  Controversy  ov^r  the  Massacre.         151 

Colville  as  they  did  at  Dr.  Whitman's  station;  but  at 
the  Fort  all  was  peace.  Surely  the  facts  justify  Mrs.  Vic- 
tor in  her  inference*  that,  *'  in  spite  of  all  and  every  provo- 
cation, perhaps  the  fatal  tragedy  might  have  been  post- 
poned, had  it  not  been  for  the  evil  influence  of  Joe  Lewis  " 
and  others  *' who  incited  the  Indians  to  murder  the  Ameri- 
cans, by  telling  them  that  they  were  killing  them  all  off"  in 
order  that  they  might  possess  their  horses  and  land." 


«i| 


'   \. 


1.1 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  AGENTS  AND   CAUSES   OF   THE   MASSACRE. 


THE  article  in  the  Catholic  World  lays  great  stress 
upon  the  alleged  fact  that  it  was  Dr.  Whitman's 
Indians  who  massacred  him — "  near  neighbors  of  the  Doc- 
tor, the  worst  being  a  member  of  his  own  household." 
And  Brouillet  says :  "  They  were  all  the  Doctor's  own 
people — the  Cayuses." 

In  contrast  with  this  representation,  we  present  the 
statement  made  by  the  Indians  to  Dr.  William  McKay, 
their  interpreter  and  friend,  who  asked  them  why  they 
"murdered  Dr.  Whitman  if  they  believed  him  a  friend 
and  his  teachings  true." 

"You  may  well  ask  us,"  they  replied ;  "but  we  did  not 
kill  Dr.  Whitman.  The  outsiders  did  it.  Four  chiefs 
believed  their  teachers,  who  often  told  them,  '  Dr.  Whit- 
man is  a  bad  man  ;  if  you  follow  him  you  v/ill  go  to  hell 
and  be  lost.'  They  conspired  to  kill  him  because  of  these 
teachings.  They  persuaded  Te-lau-kait,  the  war  chief  [of 
the  Cayuses],  not  to  spare  Dr.  Whitman.  He  was  there, 
but  r  "d  not  lift  his  hand  to  strike  a  blow  or  defend  Dr. 
Whitman.  He  was  hung,  because  he  was  with  the  mur- 
derers, and  considered  one  of  them.  We,  the  other 
indianc,  fiiends,  were  not  there.  We  did  not  know  what 
was  going  on.     Wenapsnoot  was   twenty-five   miles  off. 

152 


The  Agents  and  Causes  of  the  Massacre,  153 

The  murder  was  a  surprise  to  us  as  it  was  to  the  Ameri- 
cans." 

To  some  persons  the  charge  may  seem  to  have  consider- 
able significance.  But  those  most  familiar  with  the  per- 
sons and  events  regard  this  as  merely  showing  the  perfec- 
tion and  adroitness  of  the  plan,  which  was  that  the  killing 
should  be  done  by  the  people  whom  Dr.  Whitman  had 
been  laboring  to  benefit,  and  that  thus  the  really  guilty 
instigators  of  the  crime  might  appear  innocent.  Mr. 
Gray's  testimony  is  that  the  other  missionaries  were  to  be 
destroyed,  and  "  that  a  part  of  the  Indians  at  Mr.  Spald- 
ing's and  the  Dalles  were  ready  to  engage  in  the  same 
business  as  soon  as  they  had  their  orders."  This,  it  will 
be  remembered,  was  the  arrangement  revealed  by  McBean's 
French  interpreter  to  Mr.  Hinman,  and  later  to  Mr.  Ogden 
at  Fort  Vancouver. 

The  fact  that  these  Indians  were  formerly  friendly,  and 
that  'hey  were  the  '*  Doctor's  own  people  and  Protestants," 
did  not  keep  them  from  having  their  minds  poisoned  by 
the  infamous  lies  told  them  by  the  Catholic  half-breeds 
and  Canadian  Frenchmen. 

Here,  then,  is  the  defense  offered  hy  Roman  Catholic 
writei;s  for  the  purpose  of  exculpating  ihe  priests  from  all 
responsibility  in  the  massacre.  As  has  been  noticed,  it 
consists  mainly  in  seeking  for.  and  assigning,  reasons  for 
the  crime  other  than  religious  in  their  character.  We 
have  shown,  as  we  think,  that  there  is  no  valid  proof  of 
the  missionaries'  having  said  or  done  any  of  the  things  laid 
to  their  charge ;  and  that  the  accusations  of  bad  faith  about 
land,  poisoning,  etc.,  rest  on  testimony  which  would  not 
be  accepted  in  any  proper  court  of  justice. 


I  r 


'54 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


If  this  be  so,  then  we  are  to  look  elsewhere  for  the  causes 
which  moved  formerly  friendly  Indians  to  rise  and  murder 
their  benefactors.  The  American  settlers  and  the  friends 
of  the  missionaries  at  the  time  charged  with  singular 
unanimity  that  the  massacre  was  instigated  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  half-breeds  and  employes  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company— the  former  being  prompted  by  religious  zeal 
and  bigotry  which  had  been  intensified  by  the  presence 
and  labors  of  the  newly  arrived  priests,  the  latter  by  the 
fact  that  the  missionaries  civilized  the  Indians  and  encour- 
aged white  immigration,  thus  diminishing  the  profits  of 
the  fur  business.  This  led  the  Company  to  introduce 
priests  into  the  country,  and  to  favor  them  in  every  way 
possible,  for  the  purpose  of  crippling  if  not  destroying  the 
influence  of  Protestant  missionaries,  and  retarding  settle- 
ment by  Americans ;  and  while  the  priests  and  the  Com- 
pany were  aware  of  the  hostility  of  some  of  the  Indians,  if 
not  of  a  plot  formed  to  break  up  the  missions,  they  quietly 
awaited  the  consummati«>n,  without  taking  measures  to 
prevent  it. 

Much  of  the  evidence  relied  on  to  sustain  this  view  has 
already  been  adduced  in  the  defense  of  the  mission- 
aries from  the  unjust  and  injurious  charges  made  against 
them  by  Roman  Catholic  writers.  It  is  necessary,  how- 
ever, to  recall  the  same,  and  present  it  briefly  and  in 
order.     Let  us  note : 

I.  The  exemption  from  all  danger,  harm,  and  death,  of 
all  Roman  Catholics,  and  all  the  employes  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company. 

On  this  point  we  present  the  testimony  of  but  two  wit- 
nesses, Hon.  Elwood  Evans  and  Mr.  Gray ;  and  any  one 


The  Agents  and  Causes  of  the  Massacre,  155 

at  all  familiar  with  the  history  of  Oregon  need  not  be  in- 
formed as  to  their  exceptional  advantages  of  information. 
Mr.  Evans,  in  a  letter  to  Rev.  H.  H.  Spalding,  Olympia, 
June  30,  1868,  says : 

"  How  naturally  the  query  arises,  *  Why  is  the  Catholic 
exempt  from  danger  ;  why  can  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
employes  remain  amid  these  scenes  of  blood  and  Indian 
vengeance  against  the  white  race,  at  peace,  undisturbed, 
and,  what  is  more  loathsome,  neutral  in  such  a  conflict ; 
why  can  the  priest  administer  the  rites  of  his  church  to 
those  Indians  who  are  making  war  against  Christians — 
even  flocking  to  him — when  you  and  other  missionaries  are 
fleeing  for  your  lives  because  you  are  a  missionary  and  an 
American?'  Think  you  the  conviction  will  not  follow 
that  the  uncivilized  Indian  was,  at  best,  supposing  that 
these  bloody  deeds  were  acceptable  service  to  those  whom 
he  continued  to  regard  as  patrons  and  friends  ?  Let  your 
narrative  really  illustrate  that  '  inasmuch  as  they  did  these 
things  unto  ni2  '  because  I  was  an  American  and  a  Prot- 
estant, that  any  and  all  Americans  at  that  time  would  have 
suffered  like  consequences,  then  will  follow  the  corollary — 
distilled  truth,  the  logic  of  history — Catholics  and  Britons 
were  exempt.  The  American  missionaries  were  the  apos- 
tles paving  the  way  for  American  occupancy — the  avant- 
couriers  of  Oregon-Americanization.  The  Hudson  Bay 
Company — with  ito  auxiliaries,  the  Catholic  missionaries — 
were  making  their  last  grand  struggle  for  the  sole  and  un- 
limited control  of  the  Indian  mind.  They  supposed  they 
were  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  their  teachers.  See  O*^  'x;n*s 
Speech  to  the  Indians,  where  he  boldly  and  oper.iy  ovvns 


■-r. 

'.:■■ 

k 

1 

• 

156 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


that  '  the  Indians  believed  they  would  receive  the  appro- 
bation of  the  Company.'  " 

Mr.  Gray,  in  his  History  of  Oregon^  p.  485,  comments 
as  follows : 

**  What  shall  we  say  of  these  depositions,*  and  the  facts 
asserted  under  the  solemnity  of  an  oath,  the  witnesses  still 
living,  with  many  others  confirming  the  one  fact,  that 
Roman  priests  and  Hudson  Bay  men,  English  and  French- 
men, were  all  safe  and  unharmed,  while  American  citizens 
were  cut  down  by  ^avage  hands  without  mercy.  Without 
the  aid  of  religious  bigotry  and  the  appeal  to  God  as  send- 
ing judgments  upon  them,  not  one  of  those  simple-minded 
natives  would  ever  have  lifted  a  hand  to  shed  the  blood  of 
their  teachers  or  of  American  citizens." 

Brouillet  claims  that  the  priests  were  in  danger,  and 
were  apprehensive  of  violence.  But  we  have  yet  to  learn 
that  a  single  hair  of  their  heads  was  touched.  -Their  ex- 
emption, and  that  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  men,  he 
asserts,  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  had  never  wronged 
the  Indians  by  violating  promises  and  taking  their  lands, 
as  had  the  American  missionaries.  These  charges  having 
been  proved  untrue,  it  follows  that  the  reasons  given  by 
Brouillet  for  the  difference  of  treatment  accorded  Catholics 
and  Protestants  have  no  validity. 

II.  The  conduct  of  the  half-breeds,  Joe  Lewis,  Finlay, 
Stanfield  and  others,  before  and  at  the  time  of  the  mas- 
sacre. 

Lewis  was  most  active  in  the  murders,  shooting  down 
the  victims,  plundering  the  houses,  and  abusing  helpless 

*  Sworn  statements  of  Elam  Yoting  and  others  as  to  the  causes  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  massacre. 


77it  Agents  and  Causes  of  the  Massacre. 


JS7 


girls.  Finlay,  besides  counseling  the  savages,  provided  in 
his  own  house  the  chief  rendezvous  where  their  deviltry 
was  concocted  and  matured.  Brouillet,  in  his  narrative  of 
the  murder,  p.  89,  offers  what  many  persons  will  regard  as 
an  apology  for  the  third  villain,  Stanfield,  namely,  that  he 
shamed  the  Indians  out  of  massacring  the  women  and  the 
children  the  day  after  the  first  murders  had  been  com- 
mitted. This  rests  entirely  on  Stanfield's  own  story  told  to 
Mr.  Ogden  at  Fort  Walla  Walla ;  and  Brouillet  adds : 
"  An  action  of  that  nature,  if  it  took  place,  would  of  itself 
be  sufficient  to  redeem  a  great  many  f.iults."  Yet  this 
wretch  knew  that  the  massacre  was  to  take  place,  but 
neither  warned  the  whites  of  their  danger,  nor,  so  far  as 
we  have  any  reason  to  believe,  did  the  least  thing  to  prevent 
it. 

III.  Fault  Las  been  found  with  the  conduct  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company  both  before  and  after  the  massacre. 

Says  Elwood  Evatis*  History ^  C'hap.  xix : 

"  The  Hudson  Bay  Company  professed  neutrality.  See 
Governor  Ogden 's  speech  to  the  Indians  when  he  went  to 
redeem  the  captives.  See,  too,  what  he  sa^s  when  he  tells 
the  Indians  that  they  thought  such  acts  would  prove  accept- 
able to  the  Company.  The  logic  of  the  latter  proves  the 
outbreak  to  have  been  liable  to  follow  the  too  literal  appre- 
ciation of  the  education  of  the  Indian  mind  as  to  their 
hatred  of  the  Boston  men ;  and  neutrality  in  such  a  case 
is  but  sympathy  with  the  wrong-doer 

*'  The  Company's  servants  could  travel  in  the  hostile 
country  in  perfect  safety.  Any  Catholic  could  enjoy  simi- 
lar immunity —  dpriori  the  Indians  were  hostile,  not  to 
whites,  but  to  American  Protestants. 


:il 


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The  Story  of  Marcus  Whiiman. 


•'Again,  there  is  rj  doubt  that  either  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  or  the  Catholic  missionaries  could  have  pre- 
vented any  outbreak  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Indians. 
Tliey  failed  to  exercise  such  influence.  Tbey  omitted  to 
do  a  Christian,  humane  duty.  Such  an  omission  is  as 
criminal,  morally,  as  direct  commission  of  acts  inciting  to 
hostility. 

"  History,  therefore,  ....  will  blame  those  who,  pro- 
voking a  storm,  were  not  gifted  with  the  power  to  control 
the  elements,  even  had  they  the  desire  to  Jo  so.  Nor  will 
it  excuse  them  because  by  a  proffer  of  sympathy  to  stay 
the  sacrifice  of  life  they  endeavored  to  reli.ve  the  captives. 
That  Governor  Ogden  could  relieve  those  (  iptives,  that  the 
Roman  clergy  could  stay  in  the  midst  of  the  hostile  Indians, 
proves  too  much.  The  same  influence,  had  it  been  prop- 
erly exerted,  would  have  avoided  the  massacre." 

Mr.  Gray  says  that  Sir  James  Douglas  often  stated  in  his 
presence :  "  We  "  (the  Hudson  Bay  Company)  "  must  meet 
fire  with  fire  ....  sect  with  sect,  settler  with  settler,  as 
they  had  met,  and  were  prepared  to  meet  trader  with 
trader." 

And  Hon.  S.  R.  Thurston,  in  his  speech  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  1850,  said: 

"The  earliest  means  possible  were  taken  to  wrest  the 
whole  country  from  us  and  our  government.  Dr. 
McLaughlin  received  orders,  as  the  governor  of  this  west- 
ern branch  of  this  [Hudson  Bay]  Company,  to  dispatch 
agents  to  Fort  Hall  and  order  them  to  stop  the  American 
immigration,  and,  if  possible,  to  prevent  them  from  cross- 
ing the  Blue  Mountains." 

After  more  to  the  same  purpose,  he  expresses  his  own 


The  Agents  and  Causes  of  the  Massacre.  159 


conviction  in  these  words :  '*  That  the  massacre  was  insti- 
gated by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  I  no  more  doubt,  than 
I  doubt  my  own  existence." 

This  belief  in  the  minds  of  many  persons  was  greatly 
strengthened  by  the  Company's  unwillingness  to  aid  in 
punishing  the  murderers.  Indeed,  Mr.  Gray,  in  a  pam- 
phlet published  since  his  history,  and  which  may  be  found 
in  the  Library  of  the  Bureau  of  Education,  uses  the  follow- 
ing language  on  this  point :  **  One-half  of  our  male  Amer- 
ican population  attempted  to  bring  the  murderers  to  pun- 
ishment, but  failed  through  the  interference,  assistance  and 
counsels  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  priests." 

Mr.  Canfield,  a  survivor  of  the  massacre,  takes  a  differ- 
ent view  of  the  conduct  of  the  Company.  **  Messrs. 
Ogden  and  Douglas,"  he  says,  "kept  all  knowledge  of 
the  massacre  from  the  settlers  in  the  Willamette  Valley 
until  they  had  concluded  the  purchase  of  the  captives,  for 
they  knew  that  the  Americans  would  come  up  to  punish  the 
Indians  at  once,  and  the  latter,  as  soon  as  they  heard  they 
were  coming,  would  kill  the  women  and  children  who 
were  their  prisoners." 

IV.  The  efforts  of  the  Roman  Catholic  priests  and  half- 
breeds  to  destroy  the  influence  acquired  over  the  Indians 
by  the  Protestant  missionaries,  and  the  countenance  of 
these  efforts  by  the  Company,  as  a  means  of  breaking  down 
the  power  of  Americans. 

In  Mr.  Swan's  work,  published  in  1852,  we  read  on  page 

"  The  officers  of  the  Company  also  sympathized  with 
their  servants,  and  a  deadly  feeling  of  hatred  has  existed 
between  these  officers  and  the  American  immigrants,  who 


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T/ie  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


came  across  the  mountains  to  squat  upon  lands  they  consid- 
ered theirs;  and  there  is  not  a  man  among  them  who 
would  not  be  glad  to  have  had  every  American  immigrant 
driven  out  of  the  country." 

Mr.  Fitz  Gerald,  when  opposing  the  extension  of  the 
charter  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  before  the  British 
Parliament  in  1849,  thus  characterized  its  former  principles 
and  policy : 

"  A  corporation  who,  under  authority  of  a  charter  which 
is  invalid  in  law,  hold  a  monopoly  in  commerce  and  exer- 
cise a  despotism  in  government,  and  have  so  exercised  that 
monopoly  and  so  wielded  that  power  as  to  shut  up  the 
earth  from  the  knowledge  of  man  and  man  from  the 
knowledge  of  God." 

Mr.  Hines,  in  his  work  on  Oregon,  p.  386;  says  of  the 
Company : 

"  They  have  always  been  opposed  to  its  settlement  by 
any  people  except  such  as  by  strict  subjection  to  the  Com- 
pany would  become  subservient  to  their  wishes." 

As  to  the  other  branch  of  the  charge,  that  the  priests 
influenced  the  Indians  against  the  Protestant  missionaries, 
we  1  ve  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Spalding  and  Dr.  Whitman. 
In  their  annual  report  to  the  American  Board  for  1846, 
Mr.  Spalding  ascribes  his  trouble  with  the  Indians  during 
the  previous  two  years  to  a  white  man  and  a  Delaware 
Indian   from   east   of   the  mountains,   *'and  to  Romish 

priests,  who  are  laboring  in  that  quarter Their  aim 

seems  to  be  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  missionaries, 
and,  if  practicable,  cause  them  to  b\^  driven  from  the 
country." 

In  the  same  report  Dr.  Whitman  gives  a  summary  of  the 


TTie  Agents  and  Causes  of  the  Massacre.  161 


labors  of  the  missionaries  in  Oregon,  and  says:  "I  look 
upon  our  location  and  labors  here  as  having  done  enough 
for  the  cause  of  Christianity  and  civilization  to  compensate 
for  all  the  toil  and  expense  incurred,  even  without  taking 
into  account  the  good  actually  done  to  the  Indians.  A 
vast  good  has  also  been  wrought  among  them."  Of  the 
disposition  of  the  Indians,  he  says:  "I  am  sure  none  of 
them  wish  to  disturb  or  harm  us  j  and  more,  that  we  are 
held  in  high  estimation  by  them.  Last  fall  I  gave  them 
until  spring  to  decide  whether  I  should  leave  them,  as  they 
had  expressed  some  dissatisfaction.  I  was  not  long  left  in 
doubt,  for  they  came  forward  at  once  and  said  they  had  no 
sympathy  with  the  adherents  of  popery,  whose  ill-treatment 
had  caused  me  thus  to  appeal  to  them." 

Miss  Bewley  made  the  following  sworn  statement  in 
December,  1848,  respecting  the  wish  and  purpose  of  these 
priests  to  obtain  the  Protestant  mission  stations : 

"  When  at  the  Umatilla,  the  Frenchmen  [at  the  station 
with  Father  Blanchet]  told  me  they  were  making  arrange- 
ments to  locate  the  priests — two  at  Mr.  Spalding's  iis  soon 
as  Mr.  Spalding  got  away,  and  two  at  the  Dalles  ;  and  they 
were  going  to  the  Doctor's  next  week  to  build  a  house." 

Mr.  John  Kimzey  also  testified,  January,  1849,  ^^^^^  M''- 
McBean  told  him  that  the  priests  had  offered  to  buy  Dr. 
Whitman's  station,  but  their  offer  had  been  declined;  and 
that  Dr.  Whitman  and  Mr.  Spalding  would  have  to  leave 
the  country  soon  or  the  Indians  would  kill  them ;  adding : 
"We  are  determined  to  have  Dr.  Whitman's  station." 
Confirmation  of  this  is  given  by  Mr.  F.  S.  Wilcox,  to 
whom  the  conversation  was  repeated  the  evening  after  leav- 
ing the  Fort. 


l62 


The  Story  oj  Marcus  Whitman, 


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Mr.  Elam  Young  stated  under  oath  in  August,  1848,  that 
when  he  was  taken  from  the  Doctor's  saw-mil'  o  the  sta- 
tion one  week  after  the  massacre,  for  the  "  first  ten  days 
we  were  constantly  told  that  the  Catholics  were  coming 
there  to  establish  a  mission." 

Mr.  Daniel  Young,  who  was  at  the  saw-mill,  some 
twenty  miles  distant,  when  the  massacre  took  place,  but 
who  went  to  the  station  six  days  afterwards  and  conversed 
with  Joe  Stan  field,  said  that  Stanfield  replied,  in  response 
to  a  question  why  he  was  saved  unless  he  was  a  Catholic  : 
"I  pass  for  one."  Mr.  Young  adds  that  Mr.  Bewley  told 
him  in  Stanfield's  presence  that  he  believed  Joe  Lewis  was 
one  of  the  leaders,  and  that  the  Catholic  priests  were  the 
cause  of  the  massacre  ;  to  which  Stanfield  replied  :  **  You 
need  not  believe  any  such  thing,  and  you  would  better  not 
let  the  Indians  hear  you  say  that."  Soon  afterward  Bew- 
ley  left  the  room,  and  Stanfield,  turning  to  Mr.  Young,  said  : 
"  He  would  better  be  careful  how  he  talks.  If  the  Indians 
get  hold  of  it,  the  Catholics  may  hear  of  it."  Mr.  Young 
subsequently  cautioned  Mr.  Bewley,  but  the  latter  was 
killed  two  days  after  this  conversation,  at  the  same  time 
with  Mr.  Sale. 

Mr.  William  Geiger,  Jr.,  in  his  statement  respecting  Dr. 
Whitman's  trouble  with  the  Indians  and  his  consequent 
discouragements,  gives  as  its  cause  **  the  influence  of  the 
Roman  priests,  exercised  in  talking  to  the  Indians,  and 
through  the  French  half-breed,  Lehai,  Tom  Hill,  a  Dela- 
ware Indian,  and  others;  "  and  he  adds  that  the  Indians 
told  him  that  the  Roman  Catholics  had  instructed  them, 
•*  that  the  Protestants  were  leading  them  in  wrong  roads, 
/.  e,f  even  to  hell.    If  they  followed  the  Suapies  (Ameri- 


The  Agents  and  Causes  of  the  Massacre.  163 


cans)  they  would  continue  to  die.  If  they  followed  tiie 
Catholics,  it  would  be  otherwise  with  them  j  only  now  and 
then  one  would  die  of  age." 

Mr.  Canfield,  who  was  shot  at  the  time  of  the  massacre, 
but  finally  escaped,  represents  that  McBean,  who  was  in 
charge  at  Fort  Walla  Walla,  was  hostile  toward  the  mis- 
sionaries at  Waiilatpu,  while  with  the  Jesuits  he  was  on  the 
best  of  terms.  And  he  is  very  sure  that  much  had  been 
done  by  the  people  at  the  fort  and  by  the  Jesuits  to  preju- 
dice the  Indians  against  the  Americans,  and  especially  Dr. 
Whitman. 

Rev.  Mr.  Hines,  in  his  book,  speaks  frequently  of  the 
methods  used  to  inflame  the  minds  of  the  superstitious 
Indians  against  the  American  missionaries,  and  to  keep 
them  from  cultivating  their  lands  and  leading  settled  lives. 
They  were  told  that  it  would  be  of  no  use — that  the  Amer- 
icans would  soon  come  and  kill  them  and  destroy  tlieir  lit- 
tle farms. 

Governor  Abernethy  and  Commissary-General  Palmer 
both  testify  that  if  Romanism  had  never  come  to  Oregon 
the  massacre  of  Dr.  Whitman  would  not  have  occurred. 
And  Mr.  J.  S.  Griffin,  who  was  the  editor  of  the  Oregon 
American  at  the  time  of  the  massacre,  says :  **  I  am  posi- 
tive in  my  testimony  that  "'n  overwhelming  majority  of 
Americans  held  it  as  prove*,  hat  the  Jesuit  missionaries 
were  the  procuring  cause  of  the  Whitman  massacre  and  the 
other  Americans  who  fell  with  him."* 

To  these  facts  and  judgments  we  add  the  conclusions 
reached  by  several  persons  and  bodies  who,  by  reason 
either  of  their  residence  in  Oregon  at  the  time,  or  of  their 

*  Sea«(«  Ex.  Doe.  37,  p.  53. 


164 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


careful  subsequent  investigation,  are  entitled  to  have  their 
opinions  respected.  The  principal  Protestant  religious 
organizations  of  Oregon  are  on  record  on  page  53  of  the 
Senate  document : 

**  The  causes  of  the  massacre  were  reducible  to  two,  viz., 
the  purpose  of  the  English  government  or  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  to  exclude  American  settlers  from  the  coun- 
try, and  the  efforts  of  Catholic  priests  to  prevent  the  intro- 
duction of  education  and  of  Protestantism  by  preventing 
the  establishment  of  American  settlements,  and  that  the 
efforts  which  both  parties  made,  operating  on  the  ignorant 
and  suspicious  minds  of  the  savages,  led  to  the  butchery  in 
which  twenty  lives  were  destroyed,  and  the  most  dreadful 
sufferings  and  brutal  injuries  inflicted  on  the  survivors. — 
Oregon  Presbytery,  Old  School  Presbyterian  Church,  June 
22,  j86g. 

*•  That  the  irassacre  was  wholly  unprovoked  by  Dr.  Whit- 
man, or  any  member  or  members  of  the  mission. 

"That  the  true  cause  of  the  massacre  may  be  found  in 
the  course  and  policy  pursued  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, which  was  an  embodiment  of  the  British  govern- 
ment at  that  time  in  the  country,  to  exclude  American 
settlers  from  the  land,  and  the  efforts  of  the  Roman  priests 
directed  against  the  establishment  of  Protestantism  in  the 
country,  which  they  hoped  to  accomplish  by  preventing 
its  settlement  by  American  citizens.  These  two  things,  a 
knowledge  of  which  was  possessed  by  the  savages,  excited 
them,  doubtless,  to  perpetrate  the  horrid  butchery,  and  to 
inflict  upon  the  survivors  the  most  indescribable  brutalities. 
— The  Methodist  Conference  of  Oregon,  August,  i86g. 

**  That  from  whai  is  regarded  as  evidence  of  the  most 


The  Agents  and  Causes  of  the  Massacre.  165 

reliable  character  this  Presbytery  is  fully  convinced  that 
the  Roman  clergy  then  occupying  the  country  were  the 
principal  instigators  of  the  Whitman  tragedy. — Oregon 
Presbytery  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Churchy  May, 
1869. 

"  Your  committee  believe,  from  evidence  clear  and  suffi- 
cient to  them,  that  these  Roman  priests  did  themselves 
instigate  violence  to  the  mission,  resulting  in  the  massacre, 
and  that  this  document,  so  strangely  published  by  Con- 
gress, with  no  rebutting  statements  accompanying  it,  was 
prepared  by  them  to  throw  the  blame  of  the  massacre  upon 
the  American  missionaries. — Congregational  Association  of 
Oregon,  June^  i86g. 

"  From  personal  knowledge  and  overwhelming  testimony 
now  before  us,  we,  as  a  Presbytery,  are  convinced  that 
Romanism  and  British  influence  were  the  main  causes  of 
the  Whitman  massacre,  the  wars  that  followed,  and  the 
persecuting  and  banishing  from  the  country  of  the  Protes- 
tant missionaries,  destroying  their  property  and  imperiling 
their  lives. — Oregon  Presbytery  of  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  1868  and  i86g.'' 

The  second  citation  will  be  from  a  pamphlet  on  Dr. 
Whitman  and  the  settlement  of  Oregon,  by  Dr.  F.  F. 
Ellinwood,  p.  1 1 : 

"  How  far  the  Indians  were  instigated  to  the  massacre  is 
a  question  which  will  probably  never  be  settled.  That 
some  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  officers  and  all  of  the 
Jesuit  missionaries  did  much  to  prejudice  the  Indians 
against  Americans,  and  earnestly  desired  their  removal 
from  the  country,  is  beyond  doubt.  But  that  they  inten- 
tionally instigated  the  perpetration  of  the  ^murder  is  not 


m 


166 


TTie  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


proven.  Charity  would  suggest  the  theory  that  the  result 
of  their  influence  was  more  tragic  than  they  had  antici- 
pated." 

The  third  citation  is  from  the  History  of  Willamette 
Valley y  by  H.  O.  Long,  who  on  page  311  says  : 

'*  The  Catholics  cannot,  however,  escape  a  large  measure 
of  moral  responsibility.  They  went  among  the  Cayuses 
for  the  purpose  of  driving  Whitman  away  and  obtaining 
control  of  the  tribe ;  and  to  accomplish  this  they  told  the 
Indii\ns  that  Dr.  Whitman  was  a  bad  man  and  was  telling 
them  lies,  and  if  they  did  as  he  said  they  would  surely  go 
to  hell.  Father  Brouillet  ought  by  that  time  to  have 
become  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  Indian  character 
to  know  that  such  assertions,  if  they  were  credited,  were 
calculated  to  bring  about  just  such  a  tragedy  as  was 
enacted. 

"  The  massacre  was  the  result  of  four  distinct  causes — 
the  dislike  of  Americans,  the  ravages  of  the  epidemic,  the 
poison  intrigue  of  Joe  Lewis,  and  the  priests'  denunciation 
of  Dr.  Whitman,  and  where  the  responsibility  of  one  rests 
is  easily  seen  " 

Rev.  Dr.  William  Barrows,  writing  to  the  New  York 
Observery  attributes  the  massacre  mainly  to  the  policy  and 
methods  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  which  "desired  to 
hold  back  the  wilderness,  and  use  it  only  for  the  produc- 
tion of  furs.  It  therefore  kept  out  of  it  the  civilized  grains 
and  grasses,  the  plow  and  hoe,  and  water-wheel.  No 
Europeans  were  admitted  excepting  their  own  servants. 
All  schools  for  the  Indians  were  opposed,  and  almost  all 
Christian  missions,  except  the  Roman  Catholic."  The 
policy  of  the  Americans  was  directly  the  opposite  of  all 


i 


The  Agents  and  Causes  of  the  Massacre, 


167 


this.  Their  "  missions  meant  plows  and  highways  and 
factories;  it  meant  less  fur,  and  corn  instead,  and  school- 
books."  Of  the  English,  as  rv^presented  in  the  Company, 
he  says  that  "  their  jealousy  of  the  Americans  took  a  more 

active  and  violent  form Diplomacy  and   trade, 

fraud  and  bloody  violence,  were  used  to  keep  them  back." 

The  reader  will  notice  that  this  agrees  with  what  we  have 
said  respecting  the  plans  of  the  Company  to  exclude  Ameri- 
cans and  keep  both  country  and  natives  in  their  primitive 
state.  And  so  strongly  is  Dr.  Barrows  impressed  with  this 
mode  of  accounting  for  the  uprising  of  the  Indians  and  the 
final  massacre  of  Dr.  Whitman,  that  he  is  not  disposed  to 
look  for  other  causes  or  hold  other  parties  to  any  special 
responsibility.  Accordingly  he  dismisses  the  subject  of 
the  supposed  complicity  of  the  Roman  Catholics  with  the 
remark : 

**  Studious  and  candid  men,  in  careful  survey  of  the 
facts,  have  gravely  implicated  the  Jesuits,  and  some 
circumstantial  evidence  bears  that  way,  and  needs  explain- 
ing  The  question  has  two  sides,  and  each  has  a 

portly  amount  of  evidence.  A  careful  study  of  the  Protes- 
tant side  does  not  satisfy  me  that  so  very  grave  a  charge 
should  be  laid  on  the  Catholic  mission  of  Oregon." 

We  have  no  heart  to  pursue  this  matter  further.  It 
is  no  wish  of  ours  to  fasten  such  a  crime  as  this  upon  the 
Romish  priests,  whose  advent  in  the  territory  was  the 
signal,  at  any  rate,  for  strife  and  bloodshed.  As  stated 
before,  our  object  has  been  to  vindicate  the  characters  and 
the  work  of  the  Protestant  missionaries  from  the  vile  accu- 
sations which  have  been  heaped  upon  them  persistently  by 
Roman  Catholic  writers.    In  doing  this  we  have  given  the 


'4 
! 


i68 


Thg  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


facts  as  nearly  as  they  can  now  be  ascertained  from  exist- 
ing public  documents,  from  histories  of  the  country,  and 
from  the  testimony  of  persons  who  either  had  direct  knowl- 
edge of  what  they  narrate,  or  obtained  it  from  those  who 
lived  in  the  State  at  the  time  and  were  acquainted  with 
the  actors  and  circumstances.  And  if  the  reader  draws  an 
inference  unfavorable  to  any  of  the  actors  in  these  events, 
and  especially  to  the  conduct  and  teachings  of  the  Romish 
priests,  it  will  not  be  owing  entirely  to  the  evidence  here 
produced  as  to  their  moral  complicity  in  the  cruel  tragedy 
in  Oregon,  but  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  all  its  past  history,  when  it  possessed  the  power, 
has  ever  been  a  persecuting  church,  and  regarded  its  mis- 
sion to  be  either  the  conversion  or  the  destruction  of 
heretics — in  other  words,  Protestants. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


SURVIVORS   OF   THE    MASSACRE. 


IT  was  charged,  at  the  time  of  the  massacre,  that  some 
of  the  survivors  were  not  treated  with  becoming  hu- 
manity by  the  priests  or  by  the  agents  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company. 

It  appears  that  Brouillet,  after  seeing  the  victims  buried, 
departed  the  next  day  for  his  newly  acquired  station. 
Before  leaving  Waiilatpu,  the  scene  of  the  murders,  he  is 
said  to  have  promised  the  survivors  that  he  would  do  all  in 
his  power  to  protect  and  assist  them,  but  he  did  not  keep 
his  promise.  He  afterward  assigned  as  the  reason  for  not 
doing  so,  that  he  had  incurred  the  enmity  of  the  Indians 
by  saving  the  life  of  Mr.  Spalding,  and  had  been  detained 
a  virtual  prisoner  for  two  or  three  weeks  in  Young  Chiefs 
camp. 

I  can  find  no  evidence  confirmatory  of  this  statement, 
but  much  to  the  contrary.     Mr.  Gray*  says : 

*'  The  women  that  lived  through  that  terrible  scene 
inform  us  that  the  priest  was  as  familiar  and  friendly  with 
the  Indians  as  though  nothing  serious  had  occurred.  We 
have  seen  and  conversed  freely  with  four  of  these  unfortu- 
nate victims,  and  all  affirm  the  same  thing.  Their  impres- 
sion was,  that  there  might  be  others  he  expected  to  be 

•  Oregon,  p.  491. 

i«9 


17© 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman, 


killed,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  be  present  when  it  was  done. 
According  to  the  testimony  in  tlie  case,  Mr.  Kimball  and 
James  Young  were  killed  while  he  was  at  or  near  the 
station." 

Besides,  this  story  of  the  enmity  of  the  Indians  to  Brouil- 
let  for  sparing  Spalding's  life  seems  inconsistent  with  the 
claims  made  elsewhere  by  both  Blanchet  and  Brouillet, 
that  they  were  instrumental  through  their  influence  with 
the  Indians,  in  saving  the  lives  of  others,  and,  with  the  aid 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  of  finally  rescuing  the  sur- 
vivors from  their  captors.  We  are  aware,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  that  the  priests  were  prominent  in  the  council  held 
for  this  purpose  with  the  Indians ;  we  doubt  not  that  their 
advice  was  in  favor  of  the  release  of  the  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  that  it  had  great  weight  with  the  murderers. 
But  while  this  shows  their  humanity  after  the  massacre,  and 
when  the  missionaries  were  no  longer  in  their  way,  it  shows 
also  their  influence  over  the  Indians,  and  that  the  peril 
alleged  could  have  had  no  better  foundation  than  a  very 
active  imagination.  In  other  words,  such  evidence  proves 
too  much,  and  leaves  the  reader  to  ask :  If  these  priests 
and  the  Company  had  such  great  influence  over  these 
Indians,  why  did  they  not  exert  it  before,  and  at  least 
warn  the  missionaries  and  the  American  settlers  of  their 
danger  ? 

Mrs.  Victor  pertinently  inquires  :* 

*  '*By  what  means  did  the  Catholic  priests  procure  per- 
fect exemption  from  harm  ?  Was  it  that  they  were  French, 
and  that  they  came  into  the  country  only  as  missionaries 
of  a  religion  adapted   to  the  savage  mind,  and  not  as 

*  River  of  the  Wett,  p.  419. 


Survivors  of  the  Massacre, 


171 


settlers  ?  Was  it  fear  that  restrained  them  from  showing 
sympathy?  Certain  it  is,  that  they  preserved  a  neutral 
position,  when  to  be  neutral  was  to  seem,  if  not  to  be, 
devoid  of  human  sympathies. " 

The  claim  is  made  for  Brouillet  that  he  was  profoundly 
grieved  and  shocked  at  the  sight  of  the  victims,  and  "s- 
sist^d  in  the  burial  of  the  dead.  No  one  will  question  that 
such  were  his  feelings,  or  that  he  insisted  on  having  the 
slain  buried.  And  that,  under  such  circumstances,  this 
may  have  been  very  imperfectly  done,  we  can  readily 
believe.  Respecting  the  manner  of  burial  Mrs.  Victor 
says  :* 

*'  The  friei  Is  and  acquaintances  of  Dr.  Whitman  were 
shocked  to  find  that  the  remains  of  the  victims  [of  the 
massacre]  were  still  unbnried,  although  a  little  earth  had 
been  thrown  over  them.  Meek,  to  whom  ever  since  his 
meeting  with  her  in  the  train  of  the  fur  trader,  Mrs.  Whit- 
man had  seemed  all  that  was  noble  and  captivating,  had 
the  melancholy  satisfaction  of  bestowing,  with  others,  the 
last  sad  rite  of  burial  upon  such  portions  of  her  once  fair 
person  as  murder  and  the  wolves  had  not  destroyed." 

Our  sole  purpose  in  referring  to  this  matter  is,  that  Mr. 
Spalding  in  one  of  his  statements  speaks  of  the  graves  as 
having  been  torn  open  by  wild  beasts,  leaving  the  bodies 
exposed.  For  so  doing,  he  is  described  by  the  writer  in 
the  Catholic  World  as  going  **  down  to  the  grave  at  an  old 
age  with  a  load  of  falsehood  and  forgeries  on  his  soul." 
A  good  cause  and  a  valid  defense  is  in  no  need  of  such 
vituperative  language  as  this. 

The  accusation  that  the  priests  and  the  agents  of  the 
•2?<wcr  of  Vie  WeH,  p.  433. 


172 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


Hudson  Bay  Company  did  not  exhibit  proper  and  humane 
feeling  toward  the  survivors  of  the  massacre,  rests  upon 
four  well-defined  charges : 

I.  That,  although  they  knew  of  the  threatened  evils  to 
the  missionaries,  and  had  almost  unbounded  influence  over 
the  Indians,  the  massacre  was  not  only  not  prevented,  but 
care  was  taken  that  the  whites  should  not  be  warned  of 
their  peril.  The  evidence  of  this  has  been  briefly  pre- 
sented already  and  need  not  be  repeated. 

II.  That  Mr.  Hall,  a  mechanic,  and  a  resident  and 
employ^  at  Dr.  Whitman's  station,  was  inhumanly 
treated. 

According  to  Mr.  Spalding's  account  of  the  massacre,  in 
the  Senate  document : 

**  Four  Indians  attacked  Mr.  Hall  lying  on  the  floor  in 
the  cook  room ;  the  first  gun  missed  fire,  when  Mr.  Hall 
wrenched  the  gun  from  the  Indian,  and  they  ran,  giving 
him  time  to  reach  the  brush,  where  he  lay  till  dark,  and 
that  night  found  his  way  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  but  was 
turned  out,  put  over  the  Columbia  River,  and  has  never 
been  heard  from  since.  It  is  said  he  was  immediately 
killed  by  the  Indians.  There  were  in  the  fort,  besides  the 
gentlemen  in  charge,  some  twenty  white  men,  including 
some  ten  Catholic  priests,  who  had  arrived  in  the  country 
about  six  weeks  before,  under  the  immediate  superin- 
tendency  of  Bishop  Blanchet  and  Vicar-General  Brouillet, 
a  part  via  Cape  Horn  and  part  by  the  overland  route." 

Of  Mr.  Hall's  treatment  by  the  agent  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  after  his  escape  from  the  Indians,  and  his  seek- 
ing protection  at  Fort  Walla  Walla,  Mr.  Gray  says :  "  Mr. 
Hall  was  put   'cross  the  Columbia  River  by  McBean's 


Survivors  of  the  Massacre. 


173 


order,  and  was  lost,  starved  to  death,  or  murdered  by  the 
Indians,  we  know  not  which." 

We  have  another  account  of  Mr.  Hall's  reception  at  the 
fort,  on  page  76  of  Brouillet's  pamphlet,  where  it  is  said 
that  "  he  was  received  in  Mr.  McBean's  private  or  family 
room,"  and,  being  "undecided  whether  to  remain  or  pro- 
ceed to  the  Willamette,"  125  miles  distant,  he  consulted 
with  Mr.  McBean  and  concluded  that  he  could  reach  that 
place  in  safety.  Before  setting  out  "he  was  furnished 
with  a  cappo,  blanket,  powder,  ball  and  tobacco,  and  Mr. 
McBean  saw  him  safely  across  the  river." 

What  value  is  to  be  attached  to  this  statement,  as  con- 
fronted with  those  which  Messrs.  Spalding  and  Gray  have 
given,  each  reader  must  decide  for  himself.  It  seems 
strange  that  a  wounded  man  should  think  of  undertaking  so 
long  and  perilous  a  journey,  if  he  had  received  hospitable 
treatment  at  the  fort,  and  felt  secure  there ;  and  it  would 
have  been  much  more  to  the  advantage  of  McBean's  repu- 
tation to  detain  him  where  he  could  be  protected  and 
kept  in  safety,  instead  of  advising  him  to  pursue  such  a 
wilderness  journey.  Mrs.  Victor,  writing  of  this  same 
event,  says :  "  Mr.  Hall  was  received  into  the  fort  coldly, 
and  remained  there  twelve  hours ;  and  hearin^^  that  all  the 
captives  were  killed,  owing  to  Mr.  McBean's  coldness 
proceeded  on  his  way." 

III.  The  same  inhuman  treatment,  though  not  leading 
to  the  same  fatal  result,  is  charged  as  having  been  shown  to 
the  Osborne  family. 

We  have  an  account  of  Mr.  Osborne's  escape  from  the 
Indians  at  the  time  of  the  murder,  as  given  by  himself  on 
pages  31  and  32  of  the  Senate  document,  which  we  will 


»74 


TTie  Stofy  of  Marcus  Whiiman. 


M     ! 


abridge  :  "As  the  guns  fired  and  the  yells  commenced,  I 
leaned  my  head  upon  the  bed  and  committed  myself  and 
family  to  my  Maker.  My  wife  removed  the  loose  floor.  I 
dropped  under  the  floor  and  pulled  it  over  us.  In  five 
minutes  the  room  was  full  of  Indians,  but  they  did  not  dis- 
cover us."  He  then  describes  the  *'  yells  of  the  savages," 
and  "the  groans  of  the  dying;"  and  states  that  the 
family  remained  until  dark  in  their  place  of  concealment, 
when  he,  his  children  and  his  very  feeblj  wife*  "bent 
their  steps  toward  Fort  Walla  Walla.  The  Indians  were 
dancing  a  scalp-dance  around  a  large  fire  at  a  distance. 
There  seemed  no  hope  for  us,  and  we  knew  not  which  way 
to  go.  A  dense,  cold  fog  shut  out  every  star,  and  the  dark- 
nf»ss  was  complete.  We  could  see  no  trail,  and  not  even 
the  hand  before  the  face. '  * 

Mr.  Osborne  describees  the  sufferings  of  himse'f  a'ld 
family  while  lying  concf.'aled  in  the  brush,  wi,  .jvt  food 
and  exposed  to  the  cold  and  rain,  from  Monday  until 
Thursday  morning,  when  vith  one  child  he  reache<'  Fort 
Walla  Walla,  and  begged  Mr.  McBean  for  horses,  food  and 
clothing  to  bring  his  family  in.  "  Mr.  McBean,"  he  says, 
"told  me  I  could  not  bring  my  family  to  his  fort.  Mr. 
Hall  had  come  in  on  Monday  night,  but  he  could  not  have 
an  American  in  his  fort,  and  he  had  put  him  over  the 
Columbia  River  j  that  he  could  not  let  me  have  horses,  or 
anything  for  my  wife  and  children,  and  I  must  go  to  Uma- 
tilla. Insisted  on  bringing  my  family  to  the  fort,  but  he 
refused  ;  said  he  would  not  let  us  in.  I  next  begged  the 
priests  to  show  pity,  as  my  wife  and  children  must  perish, 
and  the  Indians  would  undoubtedly  kill  me  ;  but  with  no 

*  They  had  aU  be«n  sick  with  meaalw. 


Sitrvtvors  of  the  Massacre, 


»75 


better  success.  I  then  begged  to  leave  my  child,  who  was 
now  safe  in  the  fort,  but  they  refused." 

Providentially,  Mr.  Stanley,  an  artist,  had  just  arrived 
at  the  fort  He  offered  his  horses  to  Mr.  Osborne,  who, 
with  an  Indian  guide  furnished  by  the  agent,  started  back 
for  his  family  on  Thursday  night,  with  a  supply  of  food  and 
clothing.  After  a  long  and  perilous  search  he  found  tLem 
alive,  and  by  the  skill  and  fidelity  of  the  guide  they  were 
saved  from  the  Indians  who  sought  their  destruction. 
They  started  for  the  Umatilla,  as  McBean  had  ordered ; 
but  the  guide,  knowing  their  e^reat  danger  from  the  lurking 
savages  and  Mrs.  Osborne's  feeble  condition,*  advised 
them  to  return  to  the  fort.  This  they  finally  concluded  to 
do.  Reaching  the  fort  late  Sunday  night — let  us  quote 
Mr.  Osborne ; 

**  I  laid  my  wife  down  and  knocked  at  the  gate.  Mr. 
McBean  came  and  asked  who  was  there.  I  replied.  He 
said  he  could  not  let  us  in ;  we  mw^  go  to  Umatilla,  or  he 
would  put  us  over  the  river,  as  he  had  Mr.  Hall.  My  wife 
replied,  that  she  would  die  at  the  gate,  but  she  would  not 
leave.  He  finally  opened  the  gate  and  took  us  into  a  secret 
room,  and  sent  an  allowance  of  food  for  us  every  day.  Next 
day  I  asked  him  for  blankets  for  my  sick  wife  to  lie  on. 
He  had  nothing.  Next  day  I  urged  again.  He  had  nothing 
to  give,  but  would  sell  a  blanket  out  of  tlie  store.  I  told 
him  I  had  lost  everything,  and  had  nothing  to  pay,  but  if 
I  should  live  to  get  to  the  Willamette,  I  would  pay." 

Brouillet,  as  usual,  attempts  to  excuse  or  extenuate  the 
conduct  of  the  priests  on  the  ground  of  their  own  extreme 

*  Mr.  Eells  tells  us  that  she  had  to  be  tied  to  the  Indian  in  order  to  b« 
Able  to  ride  at  all. 


176 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


IP  III 


poverty,  and  of  McBean  on  the  ^.tlea  that  "provisions 
were  very  scarce  at  the  time  in  the  fort."  He  says  that 
McBean  did  finally  let  Mr.  Osborne  have  **a  blanket  on 
his  credit,"  but  passes  over  in  silence  his  refusal  tvi  let  the 
latter  bring  his  family  to  the  fort,  and  his  ordering  them 
to  the  Umatilla,  where  they  were  in  imminent  peril  from 
lurking  savages. 

In  a  review  of  this  treatment  of  Osborne  by  the  agent  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  Rev.  M*-  Eells,  than  whom 
there  is  nowhere  to  be  found  a  more  ] .  luent  and  just  critic, 
says:  "Why  this  Roman  Catholic  man  in  charge  of  the 
fort  should  do  this,  is  absolutely  known  only  to  himself, 
but  the  appearances  from  his  acts  are  that  he  intended  to 
help  on  the  murders," 

And  Mrs.  Victor,  in  her  River  of  the  V/est,  pnp^e  415, 
says  of  Mr.  McBean  : 

"Whether  it  was  from  cowardice,  or  cruelty  as  some 
i'leged,  that  Mr.  McBean  rejoiced  in  the  slaughter  of  the 
Protestant  missionai  ie:5,  himself  being  a  Catholic,  cai^  never 
be  known.  He  refused  shelter  to  Hall,  a  wounded  man  ; 
and  also  refused  Mr.  Osborne  horses  to  bring  his  wife  and 
children  to  the  fort,  and  food,  and  forbade  his  return  to 
Fort  Walla  Walla.  *  It  is  certain  that  some  base  and 
cowardly  motive  made  him  exceedingly  cruel  to  both  Hall 
and  Osborne.'  When  Stanley,  the  artist,  offered  his  horses 
to  bring  in  his  sick  wife  and  children,  McBean  became 
ashamed  of  his  base  and  cruel  conduct,  and  subsequently 
furnished  Osborne  a  guide  to  the  Umatilla." 

IV.  The  most  serious  charge,  particularly  as  respects  the 
conduct  of  the  Romish  priests,  was  their  refusal  co  protect 
Miss  Bewley  from  the  criminal  assaults  of  one  of  the  Indian 


Survivors  of  the  Massacre. 


177 


I 


chiefs.  Ten  days  after  the  massacre  she  was  removed  to 
the  station  on  the  Umatilla  River  which  the  priests  had 
taken  possession  of  only  a  few  days  before  the  murder. 
There  Five  Crows  demanded  her  for  his  wife.  The  priests 
are  accused  of  having,  through  fear  or  for  some  other 
cause,  advised  her  to  accompany  the  Indian  to  his  lodge  at 
night  and  afterward  refused  to  let  her  remain  in  their 
house. 

This  is  so  grave  a  charge  that  we  need  all  the  informa- 
tion that  can  be  produced.  Necessarily  the  testimony  must 
be  confined  to  the  parties  present—the  accused  and  the 
victim.  We  quote  Vicar- General  Brouillet's  account,  as 
given  in  the  Catholic  W^r/r/ of  February,  1872. 

"  *We  did,*  says  the  reverend  gentleman,  'all  that 
charity  could  claim,  and  even  more  than  prudence  seemed 
to  permit.  We  kept  her  for  seventeen  days  in  our  liouse, 
provided  for  all  her  wants,  and  treated  her  well,  and  if  she 
had  minded  us,  and  heeded  our  advice  and  entreaties,  she 
would  never  have  been  subjec^^ed  to  that  Indian.  When 
she  came  first  to  our  house,  and  told  us  that  Five  Crows 
had' sent  for  her  to  be  his  wife,  we  asked  her  what  she 
wanted  to  do.  Did  she  want  to  go  with  him,  or  not  ?  She 
said  she  did  not  want  to  go  with  him.  Stay  with  us,  then, 
if  you  like]  we  will  do  for  you  what  we  can,  was  our  offer. 
When  the  evening  came,  the  Indian  chief  called  for  her. 
The  writer  then  requested  his  interpreter  to  tell  him  that 
she  did  not  want  to  be  his  wife,  and  that,  therefore,  he  did 
not  want  her  to  go  with  him.  The  interpreter,  who  was  an 
Indian,  allied  by  marriage  to  the  Cayuses,  and  knevv  the 
chiefs  disposition  well,  would  not  provoke  his  anger,  and 
refused  to  interpret.     The  '•  riter,  then  making  use  of  a  few 


■MB 


178 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


illi 

,';  ■  i"  !  '■■ 


Indian  words  he  had  picked  up  during  the  few  days  he  had 
been  there,  and  with  the  aid  of  signs,  spoke  to  the  Indian 
himself,  and  succeeded  in  making  him  understand  what  he 
meant.  The  Indian  rose  furiously,  and  without  uttering  a 
word  went  away.  The  young  woman  then  got  frightened 
and  wanted  to  go  for  fear  he  might  come  back  and  do  us  all 
an  injury.  The  writer  tried  to  quiet  her,  and  insisted  that 
she  should  remain  at  our  house,  but  to  no  avail ;  she  must 
go,  and  off  she  went.  The  Indian,  still  in  his  fit  of  anger, 
refused  to  receive  her,  and  sent  her  back.  She  remained 
with  us  three  or  four  days  undisturbed  ;  until  one  evening, 
without  any  violence  on  the  part  of  the  Indian,  or  without 
advising  with  us,  she  went  with  him  to  his  lodge.  She 
came  back  the  next  morning,  went  off  again  in  the  evening, 
and  continued  so,  without  being  forced  by  the  Indian,  and 
part  of  the  time  going  by  herself,  until  at  last  she  was  told 
to  select  between  the  Indian's  lodge  and  our  house,  as  such 
a  loose  way  of  acting  could  not  be  suffered  any  longer. 
That  was  the  first  and  only  time  chat  she  offered  any  resist- 
ance totiie  will  of  the  Indian  ;  but,  indeed,  her  resistance 
was  very  slight,  if  we  can  believe  her  own  statement." 

As  Miss  iiewley's  deposition  is  very  extended,  and  covers 
other  points  besides  the  one  under  consideration,  we  will 
condense  it,  only  giving  in  her  own  language  what  directly 
pertains  to  the  priests'  conduct.  Those  v/ho  wish  to  read 
the  entire  testimony  are  referred  to  the  Senate  document. 
The  testimony  was  taken  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  at 
Oregon  City,  December  12,  1848. 

Miss  Bewley  was,  like  other  helpless  women  and  girls, 
subjected  to  the  brutalities  of  the  murderers  while  she  re- 
mained at  Waiilatpu.     After  an  interval  of  ten  days,  during 


Survivors  of  the  Massacre. 


179 


which  she  was  repeatedly  outraged  by  the  India.is,  she  was 
taken  to  the  Umatilla  by  an  Indiar  who  had  been  sent  from 
that  place  for  this  purpose.  To  convey  her,  he  brought 
with  him  a  horse  which  Mr.  Spalding  had  left  in  charge  of 
Father  Brouillet's  interpreter  when  he  made  his  escape. 
Though  very  sick  from  an  attack  of  fever  and  ague,  and  so 
feeble  that  she  had  to  be  helped  \j  mount  the  horse,  Miss 
Bewley  was  obliged  to  accompany  the  Indian.  The 
weather  was  extremely  cold,  and,  without  any  shelter,  she 
was  comj^elled  to  pass  the  night  with  only  a  single  blanket 
to  protect  her  from  the  frozen  earth.  She  reached  Uma- 
tilla the  morning  after  leaving:  Dr.  Whitman's  former  sta- 
tion, and  was  met  on  her  arrival  by  the  Indian  chief,  who 
carried  her,  more  dead  than  alive,  into  his  lodge.  He 
spread  down  robe:;  and  blankets  and  laid  her  upon  them, 
and  prepared  food  for  her,  which  she  was  unable  to  eat. 
After  her  fever  had  passed  off  and  sh-'  had  rested,  the  chief 
told  her  she  might  go  over  to  the  white  n^en's  ho*:;:^,  and 
that  he  would  call  for  her  at  night.  In  ♦^hc  riishop's  house 
there  were  six.  white  men — the  Bishop,  three  priests  and  two 
Frenchmen.  She  states  in  her  deposition  that  when  she  went 
there  she  "  begged  and  cried  to  the  Bishop  for  protection, 
either  at  his  house,  or  to  oe  sent  to  Walla  Walla.  I  told 
him  I  would  do  any  work  hy  night  and  day  for  him  if  he 
would  protect  me.  He  said  he  would  do  ail  he  could. 
....  The  first  night  the  Five  Crows  came,  I  refused  to 
go,  and  he  went  away,  apparently  mad,  and  the  Bishop 
told  me  I  would  better  go,  as  he  might  do  ns  all  an  injury, 
and  the  Bishop  sent  an  Indian  with  me.  He  took  me  to 
the  Five  Crows  lodge.  The  Five  Crows  showed  me  the 
door,  and  told  me  I  might  go  back,  and  take  m;''  clothes, 


I  So 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


which  I  did Three  nights  after  this,  the  Five  Crows 

came  for  me  again.  The  Bishop  finally  ordered  me  to  go  ; 
my  answer  was,  I  would  rather  die.  After  this,  he  still  in- 
sisted on  my  going,  as  the  best  thing  I  could  do.  I  was 
then  in  the  Bishop's  room ;  the  three  priests  were  there.  4 
found  I  could  get  no  help,  and  had  to  go,  as  he  told  me, 
out  of  his  room.  The  Five  Crows  seized  me  by  the  arm 
and  jerked  me  away  to  his  lodge." 

Miss  Bewley  adds  that  some  days  afterward,  as  Father 
Brouillet  was  about  to  start  for  Walla  Walla,  **  he  called 
me  out  of  the  door  and  told  me  if  I  went  to  the  lodge  any 
more  I  must  not  come  back  to  his  house.  I  asked  him 
what  I  should  do.  He  said  I  must  insist  or  beg  of  the 
Indian  to  let  me  stop  at  his  house  ;  if  he  would  not  let  me, 
then  I  must  stop  at  his  lodge."  She  then  recounts  a  scene 
which  took  place  that  same  night  in  the  Bishop's  house, 
when  the  Five  Crows  came  and  <lragged  her  from  her  bed, 
to  lake  her  to  his  lodge,  and  adds  :  **  I  toki  the  French- 
man to  go  into  the  Bishop's  room  and  ask  him  wliat  I 
should  do ;  he  came  out  and  told  me  that  the  Bishop  said 
it  was  best  for  me  to  go.  I  told  him  the  tall  priest  said, 
if  I  went  I  must  not  come  back  again  to  this  house ;  he  said 
the  priests  dared  not  keep  women  about  their  house,  but  if 
the  Five  Crows  sent  me  back  again,  why  come.  I  still 
would  not  go.  The  Indian  then  pulled  me  away  violently, 
without  bonnet  or  shawl.  Next  morning  I  came  back,  and 
was  in  much  anguish  and  cried  much.  The  Bishop  ajjked 
me  if  I  was  in  much  trouble.  I  told  him  I  was.  He  said 
it  was  not  my  fault,  that  I  could  not  help  myself."* 
After  more  than  a  fortnight  of  this  abuse,  Miss  Bewley, 

♦Oray'«  Oregon,  pp.  497-499. 


Survivors  of  the  Massacre, 


i8l 


with  the  surviving  captives,  was  redeemed,  the  ransom 
being  furnished  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

Rev.  J.  S.  Griffin  testifies  to  the  correctness  of  the  above 
statement,  as  having  been  made  by  Miss  Bewley ;  and 
others  have  given  depositions  confirming  it  in  many  re- 
spects ;  but  from  the  nature  of  the  case  there  was  no  living 
person  who  could  verify  the  most  of  her  testimony. 

It  is  claimed,  by  those  who  would  exculpate  the  priests, 
that  Miss  Bewley  made  a  later  statement,  quoted  in  the 
Senate  document,  differing  from  this  in  giving  more  par- 
ticulars of  one  or  two  of  the  scenes  in  the  tragic  history. 
This  difference  has  been  made  the  occasion  of  accusing 
Mr.  Spalding  of  altering  her  statement  to  suit  his  own  pur- 
poses. This  charge  will  have  little  weight  with  those  who 
knew  Mr.  Spalding,  and  were  acquainted  with  his  manner 
of  lit .  and  his  work.  Its  weakness  is  especially  apparent  in 
the  light  of  the  fact  that  such  men  as  Governor  Abernethy, 
Commissary-General  Palmer,  Indian  Agent  J.  W.  Ander- 
son, Chief  Justice  Hewet,  Survey  or-Gcneral  Garfie'de,  Sec- 
retaries Evans  and  Smith,  and  hundreds  of  otbsers,  residents 
of  Oregon,  to  say  nothing  of  all  the  r«  Hg.ous  bodies  in 
that  country,  as  late  as  1865,  men  ze^i  tbe  governor 

of  Idaho,  to  appoint  Mr.  Spalding  S;  /<- :  :o  'dent  of  In- 
struction, and  testified  to  his  great  moral  worth  and  his 
superior  qualifications  for  the  imjx)rtant  dunes  of  the  office. 

We  find  the  following  in  Mrs.  Victor's  River  of  the 
Wesiy  page  432  ;  it  shows  her  impression  of  the  facts  as 
they  had  come  within  her  knowledge : 

"  To  this  house  (the  Bishop's)  Miss  Bewley  applied  for 
protection,  and  was  refused,  whether  from  fear,  or  from 
the  motives  subsequently  attributed  to  them  by  some  Piot- 


l83 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


estant  writers  in  Oregon,  is  not  known  to  any  but  them- 
selves. The  only  thing  certain  about  it  is,  that  Miss 
Bewley  was  allowed  to  be  violently  dragged  from  their 
presence  every  night  to  return  to  them  weeping  in  the 
morning,  and  to  have  her  entreaties  for  their  assistance 
answered  by  assurances  from  them  that  the  wisest  course 
for  her  was  to  submit.  And  this  continued  for  more  than 
two  weeks,  until  the  news  of  Mr.  Ogden's  arrival  at  Walla 
Walla  became  known,  when  Miss  Bewley  was  told  that  if 
Five  Crows  would  not  allow  her  to  remain  at  their  house 
altogether,  she  must  remain  at  the  lodge  of  Five  Crows 
without  coming  to  their  house  at  all,  well  knowing  what 
Five  Crows  would  do,  but  wishing  to  have  Miss  Bewley's 
action  seem  voluntary,  from  shame,  perhaps,  at  their  own 
cowardice."  ♦ 

With  this  testimony  from  Mrs.  Victor,  we  leave  the 
matter  to  the  candid  verdict  of  our  readers.  As  she  is 
quoted  by  Roman  Catholics  to  prove  that  it  was  Dr.  Whit- 
man's imprudence,  if  not  double-dealing,  which  excited 
the  Indians  and  led  to  the  final  outbreak  of  hostilities,  and 
that  the  Protestant  missions  had  resulted  in  comparatively 
little  benefit  to  the  Cayuse  and  Nez  Perc6  tribes,  they  can- 
not take  exception  to  her  value  as  a  witness.  To  say  the 
least,  her  opportunities  of  information  on  this  topic  were 
as  good  as  on  the  others  ;  nor  can  she  be  accused  of  hos- 
tility to  the  priests  or  of  partiality  for  the  missionaries. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


OREGON   SAVED  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


IN  closing  this  review  it  is  desirable  to  present  some  addi- 
tional facts  about  Dr.  Whitman's  patriotic  services  in 
behalf  of  the  settlement  of  Oregon  by  American  citizens, 
and  its  ultimate  control  by  our  government.  This  is  the 
more  fitting  since  some  late  writers  have  not  hesitated  to 
deny  that  his  visit  to  the  East  in  1842-43  had  any  such 
purpose  in  view,  and  to  declare  that  his  sole  object  was  to 
induce  the  American  Board  not  to  discontinue  its  missions 
among  the  Indians  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  or  curtail  the 
operations  and  expenditures  of  the  missionaries,  as  it  had 
been  disposed  to  do  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  missions  to 
fulfill  anticipations. 

All  questions  on  this  head  should  forever  be  set  at  rest 
by  the  following  explicit  statement  taken  from  the  Mis- 
sionary  fferai.i  o{  Boston,  the  official  organ  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 

*•  While  it  is  apparent  from  the  letters  of  Dr.  Whitman  at 
the  Missionary  House,  that  in  visiting  the  Eastern  States 
in  1842-43,  he  had  certain  missionary  objects  in  view,*  it 
is  no  less  clear  that  he  would  not  ?  ave  come  at  that  time, 
and  probably  would  not  have  come  at  all,  had  it  not  been 
his  desire  to  save  the  disputed   territory   to  the  United 

*One  of  these  WHB  a  lartre  increase  of  helpers,  for  which  pnrpow  Mr.  Gray 
had  been  previously  sent  to  the  East. 


I 


i84 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


t 


v%  ■■ 


States.  It  was  not  simply  an  American  question,  however; 
it  was  at  the  same  time  a  Protestant  question.  He  was 
fully  alive  to  the  efforts  which  the  Roman  Catholics  were 
making  to  gain  the  mastery  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  he 
was  firmly  persuaded  that  they  were  working  in  the  interest 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  with  a  view  to  this  very  end. 
The  danger  from  this  quarter  had  made  a  profound  im- 
pression upon  his  mind.  Under  date  of  April  i,  1847,  ^^ 
wrote:  *  In  the  autumn  of  1842,  I  pointed  out  to  our 
mission  the  arrangements  of  the  Papal  priests  to  settle  in 
our  vicinity,  and  that  it  only  required  that  those  arrange- 
ments should  be  completed  to  close  our  operations.*  " 

Dr.  William  Geiger  recalls  many  conversations  with  Dr. 
Whitman  on  the  object  of  his  going,  and  that  "  his  main 
object  was  to  save  the  country  to  the  United  States,  as  he 
believed  there  was  great  danger  of  its  falling  into  the  hands 
of  England.  Incidentally  he  intended  to  obtain  more 
missionary  help." 

Testimony  as  direct  and  equally  explicit  is  borne  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Spalding,  Rev.  C.  Eells,  Hon.  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  his 
companion  on  the  winter  journey,  Mr.  Perrin  B.  Whitman, 
his  nephew,  Hon.  Alanson  Hinman,  and  Samuel  J.  Parker, 
M.D.,  son  of  the  pioneer  missionary  of  the  American 
Board's  missions  in  Oregon.  These  all  affirm  in  substance 
that  the  perilous  trip  was  undertaken  "  to  prevent,  if  pos- 
sible, the  trading  off  of  this  northwest  coast  lo  the  British 
government,"  and,  as  a  means  to  this  end,  "the  bring- 
ing of  an  immigration  of  American  settlers  across  the 
plains." 

As  further  showing  Dr.  Whitman's  relations  to  the 
American  Board  and  the  reasons  for  liis  journey,  we  for- 


Oregon  Saved  to  the  United  States. 


185 


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5- 


tie 


tunately  have  a  letter  written  by  him  to  the  Board,  April  i, 
1847,  >"  which  he  says: 

"American  interests  acquired  in  the  country,  which  the 
success  of  the  immigration  of  1843  ^^one  did  and  could 
have  secured,  have  become  the  foundation  of  the  late 
treaty  between  England  and  the  United  States  in  regard  to 
Oregon ;  for  it  may  easily  be  seen  what  would  have  be- 
come of  American  interests  in  this  country  had  the  results 
of  that  immigration  been  as  disastrous  as  have  been  the  two 
attempts  in  1845  and  1846  to  alter  the  route  then  followed. 
Any  one  may  see  that  American  interests,  as  now  acquired, 
have  had  more  to  do  in  securing  the  treaty  than  our  original 
rights.  From  1835  till  now  it  has  been  apparent  that 
there  was  a  choice  of  only  two  things :  (i)  The  increase  of 
British  interests  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  rights  in  the 
country,  or  (2)  the  establishment  of  American  interests  by 
citizens  on  the  ground.  In  the  fall  of  1842  I  pointed  out 
to  our  mission  the  arrangements  of  the  Papists  to  settle 
here,  which  might  oblige  us  to  retire.  This  was  urged  as 
a  reason  why  I  should  return  home  and  try  to  bring  out 
men  to  carry  on  the  secular  work  of  the  missionary  sta- 
tions, and  others  to  settle  in  the  country  on  the  footing  of 
citizens  and  not  as  missionaries.  You  will  please  receive 
this  as  an  explanation  of  many  of  my  measures  and  much 
of  my  policy." 

Mr.  Gray,  the  secular  agent  of  the  mission,  confirms  the 
above  statement.  "  We  can  bear  positive  testimony,"  he 
says,  **  that  Dr.  Whitman  did  point  out  to  his  associates  all 
the  dangers  to  which  they  were  exposed." 

An  article  in  the  Congregationalist^  of  Boston,  by  a  writer 
familiar  with  this  subject,  sums  up  the  evidence  by  stating; 


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T%e  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


"  Dr.  Whitman  evidently  regarded  his  visit  to  Washington, 
and  his  success  in  conducting  875  emigrants  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  as  settling  the  destiny  of  Oregon." 

In  the  face  of  all  this  evidence,  nothing  but  an  invincible 
prejudice  will  account  for  the  refusal  of  some  persons  still 
to  recognize  the  patriotic  services  rendered  by  Dr,  Whit- 
man, and  their  denial  even  that  he  was  in  Washington  dur- 
ing his  visit  to  the  East  in  the  spring  of  1843  )  though  Rev. 
Drs.  Barrows  and  Hale,  of  St.  Louis ;  Judge  James  Otis,  of 
Chicago,  and  Governor  Ramsey,  of  Minnesota,  all  testify 
to  having  met  and  conversed  with  him  respecting  his  inter- 
views with  Daniel  Webster,  the  President,  and  the  Cabinet, 
Hubert  H.  Bancroft,  in  his  history  of  Oregon,  entirely 
ignores  Dr.  Whitman's  visit  to  Washington  and  his  services 
there  in  behalf  of  Oregon. 

Happily  for  the  truth  of  history  and  the  vindication  of  a 
great  and  good  man,  evidence  has  come  to  light  that  abso- 
lutely settles  the  fact  of  Dr.  Whitman's  presence  in  Wash- 
ington, and  of  his  repeated  interviews  with  the  heads  of  the 
government  respecting  the  Northwest  Territory.  Among 
the  documents  in  the  War  Department  there  are  two,  dis- 
covered recently,  written  by  Dr.  Whitman,  and  addressed 
to  Hon.  James  M.  Porter,  Secretary  of  War  in  1843  under 
President  Tyler.  The  one  is  a  bill  prepared  by  him,  and 
which  he  proposed  Congress  should  pass,  **  to  promote  safe 
intercourse  with  the  territory  of  Oregon;  to  suppress  vio- 
lent acts  of  aggression  on  the  part  of  certain  Indian  tribes ; 
the  better  to  protect  the  revenue ;  and  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  mail,  and  other  purposes."  The  act  provides 
for  establishing  agricultural  posts  or  farming  stations  from 
the  Kansas  River  to  the  settlements  of  the  WjlUniette  in 


Oregon  Saved  to  the  United  States. 


iBj 


Oregon  ;  that  at  each  of  these  there  shall  reside  a  superin- 
tendent and  a  deputy  superintendent,  "  having  charge  and 
power  to  carry  into  efTect  the  provisions  of  this  act,  subject 
to  the  instructions  of  the  President ;"  and  that  there  shall 
also  be  laborers  and  artificers,  not  exceeding  twenty,  whose 
appointment  and  dismissal  shall  rest  with  the  superin- 
tendent. 

It  further  provides  for  suitable  buildings,  supplied  with 
necessary  mechanical  and  agricultural  implements;  "  that 
at  each  post,  not  to  exceed  640  acres  of  land  be  cultivated 
with  products  there  'required ;  that  the  superintendents 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  President,  and  hold  office  four 
years,  who  are  to  make  an  annual  statement  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  of  all  receipts  and  disbursements. 
They  shall  have  charge  of  the  Indians  under  the  control  of 
the  Commissioner-General  of  Indian  Affairs ;  have  power 
to  administer  oaths  and  to  act  as  civil  magistrates,  with 
authority  to  arrest  all  disorderly  white  persons,  and  to 
punish  Indians  committing  acts  against  the  laws  of  the 
United  States ;  and  finally  to  act  as  postmasters  at  their 
stations,  but  without  compensation." 

In  explanation  and  advocacy  of  this  bill,  prepared  and 
sent  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Dr.  Whitman  accompanied 
it  with  a  letter  of  more  than  ten  pages,  closely  written. 
The  letter  is  of  such  importance  in  vindicating  the  truth  of 
history,  that  we  print  it  as  an  appendix  to  this  volume. 

These  documents  forever  settle  the  dispute  respecting 
Dr.  Whitman's  presence  in  Washington  in  the  spring  of 
1843,  ^^^  importance  of  the  information  he  conveyed,  and 
the  plan  which  he  submitted  to  the  Cabinet  of  President 
Tyler  for  the  maintenance  of  our  Oregon  possessions.    His 


i88 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


'hi 


information  was  needed  and  was  welcomed,  and  his  plan  to 
save  Oregon  was  adopted. 

In  the  New  York  Independent  oi  January,  1870,  we  are 
told  that  *'  A  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Webster  (then  Secre- 
tary of  State),  a  legal  gentleman,  and  with  whom  he  con- 
versed on  the  subject,  several  times  remarked,  *  It  is  safe 
to  assert  that  our  country  owes  it  to  Dr.  Whitman  and  his 
associate  missionaries  that  all  of  the  territory  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  south  as  far  as  the  Columbia  River, 
is  not  owned  by  England  and  held  by  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company.*  "  * 

And  Dr.  Barrows,  in  his  History  of  Oregon  and  the 
Struggle  for  Possession^  says  sententiously  and  truly  that 
"American  enterprise,  pioneered  by  American  missiona- 
ries, secured  Oregon  to  the  United  States." 

So  far  as  known,  Dr.  Whitman's  bill  did  not  get  before 
Congress.  Probably  before  this  could  be  done  Mr.  Porter 
ceased  to  be  Secretary  of  War,  as  the  Senate  failed  to  con- 
firm his  nomination. 

In  presenting  the  timely  and  valuable  services  of  Dr. 
Whitman  to  his  country  at  this  period  when  the  possession 
of  Oregon  was  to  be  decided,  I  avail  myself  of  the  clear 
and  candid  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  territory,  by 
Rev.  Dr.  S.  H.  Willey,*  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  in  the 
Pacific  of  September  2,  1885.  There  could  hardly  be 
found  on  the  Pacific  Coast  a  person  better  informed  than 
he,  or  one  whose  representation  would  carry  a  stronger  or 
more  general  conviction  of  the  truth  to  all  unprejudiced 
minds. 

The  article  first  deals  with  the  difficulties   which  the 


*  An  honored  minister  and  early  resident  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 


Oregon  Saved  io  the  United  States. 


189 


Protestant  missionaries  encountered,  owing  to  the  intrusion 
of  Papal  priests  upon  their  field  of  labor,  with  the  approval 
and  aid  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  when  at  once  "  the 
most  persistent  exe  -tions  were  used,  both  secret  and  open, 
to  turn  away  the  natives  from  the  instruction  "  of  their 
former  Protestant  mission  teachers,  leading  to  anxiety  and 
discouragement  lest  the  hard  work  of  four  years  should  be 
interrupted,  if  not  wholly  destroyed.  This  was  followed 
in  the  early  part  of  1842  by  a  revival  among  the  Indians  of 
their  interest  in  the  Protestant  missions,  leading  the  mis- 
sionaries to  prosecute  their  labors  with  increased  vigor,  and 
with  correspondingly  gratifying  and  beneficial  results. 

The  article  proceeds  then  to  speak  more  specifically  of  Dr. 
Whitman  and  his  services  for  Oregon : 

**  As  the  autumn  of  184?  came  on,  a  new  subject  of 
anxiety  presented  itself.  Immigrants  arrived  from  across 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  bringing  the  news  that  the  long- 
pending  *  Oregon  question '  was  coming  to  a  settlement. 
The  critical  issue  was  on  the  eve  of  decision — which  flag 
was  to  wave  over  this  great  Northwest,  that  of  Great  Britain 
or  that  of  the  United  States.  It  was  not,  in  fact,  so  near  to  a 
decision  as  the  news  at  this  time  indicated  :  but  it  stirred  up 
the  anxiety  of  what  few  inhabitants  there  were  in  Oregon,  on 
both  sides,  to  fever  heat.  From  all  that  could  be  learned,  it 
was  believed  by  our  missionaries  that  the  decision  was 
coming  on  without  the  real  facts  being  known  as  to  the 
vast  value  of  the  country.  Dr.  Whitman,  especially,  felt 
this  keenly.  From  four  or  five  years'  observation  he  had 
become  profoundly  convinced  of  its  immense  value  for 
homes  for  a  great  people,  rather  than  as  the  hunting-ground 
for  a  foreign  fur- trading  monopoly.     He  knew  what  exer- 


190 


The  Story  of  Marcus  Whitman. 


tions  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  were  making  to  retain  the 
territory,  and  what  vigor  they  inspired  in  the  British 
government  to  insist  on  its  right  to  it.  And  he  did  not 
think  that  our  own  United  States  government  was  fully 
informed  of  the  value  of  the  country  they  were  negotiating 
about.  And  it  would  seem,  in  reading  their  speeches  in  the 
light  of  to-day,  that  our  public  men,  even  at  a  later  day, 
knew  very  little  indeed  of  it." 

In  support  of  this  view,  the  writer  quotes  from  the 
speeches  of  Senators  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  and  McDuffie, 
of  South  Carolina,  and  from  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Webster, 
as  recorded  in  his  works,  Vol.  i,  p.  149,  and  Vol.  v,  p. 
102.  As  these  have  been  referred  to  elsewhere  in  this 
volume,  they  do  not  require  to  be  here  quoted. 

"  Is  it  strange,  then,"  the  writer  asks,  *'  that  Dr.  Whit- 
man was  stirred  by  an  immense  anxiety  when  he  under- 
stood,  from  news  just  received,*  that  the  ownership  of  all 
Oregon  was  on  the  eve  of  being  decided — decided,  too,  in 
such  utter  ignorance,  on  the  part  of  our  statesmen,  of  its 
real  value?  The  rightfulness  of  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  to  the  country  was  admitted  and  believed  in  by  all 
parties,  as  the  opposite  was  believed  in  by  the  British ;  but 
its  worth  seemed  to  be  held  in  such  low  esteem  that  there 
appeared  to  be  almost  a  willingness  to  abandon  It.  Dr. 
Whitman,  on  the  contrary,  had  lived  in  Oregon  several 
years.  He  had  tested  its  soil.  He  had  observed  its 
climate.  He  had  traveled  in  it  many  thousand  miles.  He 
knew  that  it  was  capableof  sustaining  a  great  population.  He 
knew,  too,  as  very  few  other  men  did  know,  that  wagon- 
trains  with  men,  women  and  children  could  come  all  the 

*  Brought  by  immigration  party,  faU  of  1842. 


I!  I 


Oregon  Saved  to  the  United  States. 


191 


way  from  the  East  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  this  pro- 
ductive and  genial  country.  He  knew  that  the  competing 
claims  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  were  so 
evenly  balanced  that  the  fact  of  the  actual  settlement  of  the 
country  by  either  party  would  mainly  determine  the  owner- 
ship. He  saw  the  beginning  of  a  competing  settlement  in 
the  Red  River  emigration  from  the  British  Northeast,  some 
hundred  or  two  persons,  and  he  observed  the  exultation 
with  which  their  coming  was  greeted.  To  his  mind  the 
moment  was  critical.  Whatever  was  done  to  determine 
the  future  must  be  done  instantly.  Two  keys  must  be 
touched — one  the  key  of  diplomacy,  as  against  bartering 
the  Oregon  claim  for  any  equivalent ;  the  other  the  key  of 
actual  occupation,  planting  American  homes  in  abundance 
on  the  rich  lands  in  Oregon,  while  yet  the  country  was 
open  to  joint  occupation.  But  if  he  would  touch  these 
keys,  he  must  do  it  at  the  East.  No  wires  then  connected 
this  coast  with  Washington,  or  the  great  West  from  which 
immigration  could  be  looked  for.  How  could  he  reach 
the  East  ?  It  is  now  October.  The  news  just  received  leads 
him  to  think  that  whatever  information  shall  avail  anything 
at  Washington  must  reach  the  government  immediately  ; 
and  whatever  is  done  to  stimulate  the  next  year's  emigra- 
tion must  be  done  before  spring.  How  could  he  get  there  ? 
The  journey  was  hard  enough  in  the  best  season  of  the  year 
and  in  the  protecting  company  of  a  caravan.  How  power- 
ful the  motive  that  could  nerve  a  man,  who  knew  so  well 
the  perils  of  mountain  travel,  to  undertake  such  a  journey 
alone,  and  in  the  winter  ?  But  such  a  motive  the  Oregon 
situation  applied  to  Dr.  Whitman's  mind.  Against  the 
remonstrance  of  his  friends  and  associates,  he  determines 


IBBH 


1 


1 1  1 


The  Story  of  Marcu,  Whitman. 


'''  One  attendant  a.one  accompanies 

to  attempt  tlie  journey.     One  a  ^^.^^^  ^^^,,^„d 

him;  it  is  A.  L.  Lo-,oy,;^o  ';»J^^„^  ^^^^^^^  ^^,  ,,. 
«Uh  the  small  '^'f  ^' "VJ^aUe^  at  the  East  that  so 
formation  <=°»<="°'"«  ofoctober  3,  .842,  they  mount, 
rro^rrr-JtrchtL  Baste.  States.. 

-r^hsto^sana^--^^^^^^^^ 

fatigue,  they  made  the^^"^  ^  ,^^^3,  elimbing  mountains 
ersed  only  by  savages  and  w.ld  b  j^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 
^  swimming  nvers,  from  the  ^^^^^  „„ 

s,ift  current  on  the  one     ^e  t^^^^^^^^^^^  ,oute  they  a,  last 

the  other  side.     ^^  \''7;X  „on  h  of  February,  1843. 
reached  St.  Louts    -te  m  the  ™°»  ,5;^  what  he 

Hastening  on  to  Wf '"g'^e^n  Jnt,  and  then  made  his 
could  for  Oregon  -«>  *l«°:CXi„'  of  the  mission  with 
way  to  Boston  and  arranged  tne  ,^  ^^^„ 

the^merican  Board  and  wa^J^^^^^^^  „,  ,,,  ,ea,  x843. 

to  join  the  g«^'/f''rn,e"n  question.'     This  emigra- 
that  really  settled  ^e    Oregonj^  ^ 

tion  consisted  of  nearly  »    »»  \  ch  and  pen, 

™an  did  all  that  he  V^^^J I'^^^J^  ^  stimulate  the 
daring   the   short   t.me  ^^  '^^  ';„  Oregon.     And, 

emigration  and  ^wf  e"   an   mU^         ^^^^^^^^  ^^  ,h, 
although   he    found  that   thj    acW     ^^^  ^^.^^^ 

boundary  line  b«'««"  ^^iHeeu  led  to    suppose,  the 
was  not  as  near  as  ^e  had  b  ^^^  ^^^.^ 

preliminary  s-P  ^o-^,^  ^^  'mination  of  the  '  joint  occu- 
notice  given  in  i844  ot  ins 

Potion.'  "  ,  t^  tv,e  cause  while  at  Wash- 

Of  Dr.  Whitman's  services  to 


Oregon  Saved  to  the  United  States. 


»93 


ington,  we   append   only  two   or  three   brief  additional 
statements.     Says  Hon.  Elwood  Evans  : 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Whitman  was 
opportune.  The  President  was  satisfied  that  the  territory 
was  worth  the  effort  to  save  it.  The  delay  incident  to  the 
transfer  of  negotiations  to  London  was  fortunate. ' ' 

In  an  article  printed  in  the  New  York  Observer  in  1883, 
Dr.  Barrows,  the  author  of  the  history  of  Oregon  in  the 
American  Commonwealth  series,  says : 

"The  Doctor  had  arrived  in  Washington  just  in  time  to 
make  such  a  visit  of  the  greatest  service  in  weakening  the 
English  and  strengthening  the  American  claims.  His  in- 
formation supplemented  that  of  the  President,  Secretary, 
and  Congress  generally ;  and  it  rectified  the  wrong  impres- 
sions and  unjust  bias  which  English  statements  had  made, 
and  it  exposed  the  bold  scheme  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany to  capture  the  territory  by  stealthy  colonization  ;  and 
to  him  above  any  other  man,  and  beyond  comparison,  must 
be  given  the  credit  of  saving  Oregon." 

Mr.  H.  O.  Lang,  the  author  of  a  valuable  history  of  the 
Willamette  Valley,  page  266,  thus  writes : 

**  No  one  can  have  read  the  preceding  pages  without 
having  become  convinced  of  the  sterling  integrity,  firmness 
of  purpose,  and  energy  of  action  of  Doctor  Whitman. 
His  character  and  services  to  the  American  cause  entitle 
him  to  the  first  place  among  those  whose  memory  the  citi- 
zens of  Oregon  should  ever  revere,  and  whom  all  true 
Americans  should  honor.  It  has  settled  beyond  dispute,  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  have  given  the  subject  a  just  and 
careful  consideration,  the  permanent  and  exalted  position 


194 


The  Sfory  of  Marcus  IVht'fman. 


Doctor  Whitinau  must  ever  occupy  in  the  annals  of 
Oregon." 

In  The  Advance  of.  March  14,  1895,  is  this  tribute  : 

"  Is  there  in  history  the  record  of  a  man  who  by  himself 
saved  for  his  country  so  vast  and  so  valuable  a  territory  as 
did  Whitman  by  his  prophetic  heroism  of  1842-43  ?  .  .  .  . 
His  ride  across  the  continent  in  the  winter  of  1842,  a 
winter  memorable  for  its  severity,  is  without  a  parallel  in 
history.  It  stands  as  the  sublime  achievement  of  a  prophet 
and  a  hero,  who  saw  and  suffered  that  his  country  might 
gain.  The  United  States  paid  ||io,ooo,ooo  for  Alaska. 
It  bought  Louisiana  for  millions  more.  It  paid  a  Mexican 
War,  blood  and  money,  for  the  acquisition  of  Texas  and 
New  Mexico.  But  what  did  it  pay  for  Washington  and 
Oregon  and  Idaho,  a  territory  into  which  New  England 
and  the  Middle  States  might  be  put,  with  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, West  Virginia  and  three  Connecticuts?  It  paid  not 
one  cent.  That  vast  region  cost  the  Nation  nothing.  It 
cost  it  only  the  sufferings  and  perils  of  Marcus  Whitman, 
who  risked  his  life  and  endured  all  hardships  that  the  ter- 
ritory of  his  adoption  might  belong  to  the  country  of  his 
birth." 

Again,  in  the  same  number  of  that  paper,  we  find  the 
following : 

**  Marcus  Whitman  was  one  of  the  splendid  heroes  and 

benefactors  of  the  Republic What   he  did   for 

the  Nation,  through  his  clear  insight  into  the  motives  and 
aims  of  men,  whose  loyalty  was  to  another  flag  than  the  stars 
and  stripes,  and  by  his  prompt  action,  brave  sacrifices 
and  unfaltering  determination,  in  saving  an  imperial  and 
priceless  section  of  our  domain  to  be  a  part  of  the  United 


Oregon  Saved  to  the  United  States. 


195 


States,  had  he  been  a  soldier  or  a  politician,  would  have 
made  his  name  a  household  word  from  end  to  end  of  our 
vast  Commonwealth." 

We  close  this  volume,  itself  a  labor  of  love,  by  a  brief 
and  touching  tribute  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  H.  K.  Hines, 
of  Fort  Vancouver,  in  the  present  State  of  Washington, 
who  was  personally  acquainted  with  Dr.  Whitman  and 
fully  aware  of  his  comprehensive  views,  and  of  his  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  Christian  missiors  : 

"  On  the  banks  of  the  Walla  Walla,  in  a  lowly  grave, 
unmarked  by  an  inscription,  the  mortal  remains  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Whitman  are  slumbering  away  the  years.  They 
sleep  not  far  from  the  spot  where  the  consecrated  years  of 
their  mature  life  were  so  lavishly  given  to  that  noblest  of 
all  work,  raising  the  fallen  and  saving  the  lost.  Living, 
they  were  the  peers  of  such  a  hero  and  heroine  as  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Judson;  and  dying,  their  memory  is  entitled 
to  the  same  enshrinement  in  the  grateful  regards  of  a 
church  and  state,  indebted  to  .'jem  for  one  of  the  finest 
illustrations  of  unselfish  patriotism  and  of  the  purity  and 
power  of  ancient  faith.  And  when  he  whom  they  served 
with  such  special  devotion  shall  assemble  his  best  beloved, 
they  of  the  eastern  shall  greet  tho-e  of  the  western  shore  of 
the  Pacific,  and  hail  them  fellow-heirs  to  martyr's  robe  and 


crown. 


II 


APPENDIX. 


To  THE  Hon.  James  M.  Pop'^f.r,  Secretary  of  War : 

Sir  :  In  compliance  with  the  equcst  you  did  me  the 
honor  to  make  lajt  winter  whik  at  rVanhington,  I  herewith 
transmit  you  the  synopsis  of  a  bill  which,  if  it  could  be 
adopted,  would,  according  to  my  experience  and  observa- 
tion, prove  highly  conducive  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
United  States  generally,  to  Oregon,  where  I  have  resided 
for  more  than  seven  years  as  a  missionary,  and  to  the 
Indian  tribes  that  inhabit  the  intermediate  country. 

The  Government  will  doubtless  now  for  the  first  time  be 
apprised  through  you,  and  by  means  of  this  communica- 
tion, of  the  immense  migration  of  families  to  Oregon 
which  has  taken  place  this  year.  I  have  since  our  inter- 
view been  instrumental  in  piloting  across  the  route  de- 
scribed in  the  accompanying  bill,  and  which  is  the  only 
eligible  wagon  road,  families  consisting  of  no  less  than  one 
thousand  persons  of  both  sexes,  with  their  wagons,  amount- 
ing in  all  to  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty,  698  oxen 
and  173  loose  cattle.  The  emigrants  are  from  different 
States,  but  principally  from  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Illinois 
and  New  York.  The  majori'^y  of  them  are  farmers,  lured 
by  the  prospects  of  government  bounty  in  lands,  by  the 
reported  fertility,  of  the  soil,  and  by  the  desire  to  be  first 
among  those  who  are  planting  our  institutions  on   the 

197 


iiriMw 


198 


Appendix. 


Pacific  Coast.  Among  them  also  are  artisans  of  every 
trade,  comprising  with  farmers  the  very  best  material  for  a 
new  colony.  As  pioneers  these  people  have  undergone  in- 
credible hardships,  and,  having  now  safely  passed  the  Blue 
Mountain  range  with  their  wagons  and  effects,  have  estab- 
lished a  durable  road  from  Missouri  to  Oregon,  which  will 
serve  to  mark  permanently  the  route  for  large  numbers  each 
succeeding  year,  while  they  have  practically  demonstrated 
that  wagons  drawn  by  horses  or  oxen  can  cross  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  Columbia  River,  contrary  to  all  the 
sinister  assertions  of  those  who  pretended  it  to  be  impos- 
sible. 

In  their  slow  progress  these  persons  have  encountered,  as 
in  all  former  instances,  and  as  all  succeeding  emigrants 
must,  if  this  or  some  similar  bill  be  not  passed  by  Con- 
gress, the  continued  fear  of  Indian  aggression,  the  actual 
loss  through  them  of  horses,  cattle  and  other  property,  and 
the  great  labor  of  transporting  an  adequate  amount  of  pro- 
visions for  so  long  a  journey.  The  bill  herewith  proposed 
would  in  a  great  measure  lessen  these  inconveniences  by 
the  establishment  of  posts,  which,  while  they  possessed 
power  to  keep  the  Indians  in  check,  thus  doing  away  [with] 
the  necessity  of  constant  military  vigilance  on  the  part  of 
the  traveler  by  day  and  night,  would  be  able  to  furnish 
them  [emigrants]  in  transit  with  fresh  supplies  of  pro- 
visions, diminish  the  original  burdens  of  the  emigrants,  and 
finding  thus  a  ready  and  profitable  market  for  their  pro- 
duce, a  market  that  would  in  my  opinion  more  than  suffice 
to  defray  all  the  current  expenses  of  such  posts.  The 
present  party  are  supposed  to  have  expended  no  less  than 
two  thousand  dollars  at  Laramie  and  Bridger  Forts,  and  as 


Appendix. 


199 


much  more  at  Fort  Kail  and  at  Fort  Boise,  two  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company's  stations.  These  are  at  present  the 
only  stopping  places  in  a  journey  of  twenty-two  hundred 
miles,  and  the  only  places  where  additional  supplies  can 
be  obtained  even  at  the  enormous  rates  of  charge  called 
mountain  prices — fifty  dollars  the  hundred  for  flour  and 
fifty  dollars  the  hundred  for  coffee,  the  same  for  sugar  and 
powder,  etc. 

There  were  many  cases  of  sickness  and  some  deaths 
among  those  who  accomplished  the  journey  this  season, 
owing  in  a  great  measure  to  the  uninterrupted  use  of  meat, 
salt  and  fresh,  with  flour,  which  constitute  the  chief 
articles  of  food  they  are  able  to  convey  in  their  wagons, 
and  this  would  be  obviated  by  the  vegetable  productions 
which  the  posts  in  contemplation  could  very  profitably 
afford  them.  Those  who  rely  upon  hunting  as  an  auxiliary 
support  are  at  present  unable  to  have  their  arms  repaired 
when  out  of  order ;  horses  and  oxen  become  tender-footed 
and  require  to  be  shod  on  their  long  journey,  sometimes  re- 
peatedly, and  the  wagons  must  be  repaired  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  I  mention  these  as  valuable  incidents  to  the  pro- 
posed measure,  as  it  will  also  be  found  to  tend  in  many 
other  incidental  ways  to  benefit  the  migratory  population 
of  the  United  States  choosing  to  take  this  direction,  and 
on  these  accounts,  as  well  as  for  the  immediate  use  of  the 
posts  themselves,  they  ought  to  be  provided  with  the  ne- 
cessary shops  and  mechanics,  which  would  at  the  same 
time  exhibit  the  several  branches  of  civilized  art  to  the 
Indians. 

The  outlay  in  the  first  instance  need  be  but  trifling. 
Forto  like  those  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  surrounded 


200 


Appendix, 


by  walls  enclosing  all  the  buildings,  and  constructed  almost 
entirely  of  adobe  or  sun-dried  bricks  with  stone  founda- 
tions only,  can  be  easily  and  cheaply  erected.  There  are 
very  eligible  places  for  as  many  of  these  as  the  Government 
will  find  necessary,  at  suitable  distances,  not  further  than 
one  or  two  hundred  miles  apart,  at  the  main  crossings  of  the 
principal  streams  which  now  form  impediments  to  the  jour- 
ney, and  consequently  well  supplied  with  water,  having 
alluvial  bottom  lands  of  a  rich  quality  and  generally  well 
wooded.  If  I  might  be  allowed  to  suggest  the  best  sites 
for  said  posts,  my  personal  knowledge  and  observation 
enable  me  to  recommend  :  First,  the  main  crossing  of  the 
Kansas  River,  where  a  ferry  would  be  very  convenient  to 
the  traveler  and  profitable  to  the  station  having  it  in  charge  j 
next,  and  about  eighty  miles  distant,  the  crossing  of  Blue 
River,  where  in  times  of  an  unusual  freshet  a  ferry  would 
be  in  like  manner  useful ;  next,  and  distant  from  one  hun- 
dred to  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  last  men- 
tioned, the  Little  Blue  or  Republican  fork  of  the  Kansas  j 
next,  and  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  miles  distant  from  the 
las^,  mentioned,  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  Platte 
River ;  next,  and  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  distant  from  this,  last  mentioned,  the  crossing 
of  the  South  Fork  of  Platte  River ;  next,  and  about  one 
hundred  and  eighty  or  two  hundred  miles  distant  (from  the 
last  mentioned).  Horse  Shoe  Creek,  which  is  about  forty 
miles  west  of  Laramie's  Fork  in  the  Black  Hills.  There  is 
a  fine  creek  for  mills  and  irrigation,  good  land  for  cultiva- 
tion, fine  pasturage  and  timber  and  stone  for  building. 
Other  locations  may  be  had  along  the  Platte  and  Sweet- 
water, on  the  Green  River,  or  Black  or  Hain's  Fork  on  the 


Appendix. 


201 


Bear  River  near  the  great  Soda  Springs ;  near  Fort  Hall,  and 
at  suitable  places  down  to  the  Columbia.  These  localities 
are  all  of  the  best  description,  and  so  situated  as  to  hold  a 
ready  intercourse  with  the  Indians  in  their  passage  to  and 
from  the  ordinary  Buffalo  hunting  grounds ;  and  in  them- 
selves so  well  situated  in  all  other  respects  as  to  be  desirable 
to  private  enterprise  if  the  usual  advantages  of  trade  existed. 
Any  of  the  farms  above  indicated  would  be  deemed  ex- 
tremely valuable  in  the  States. 

The  Government  cannot  long  overlook  the  importance 
of  superintending  the  savages  who  endanger  this  line  of 
travel,  and  who  are  not  yet  in  treaty  with  it.  Some  of  these 
are  already  well-known  to  be  led  by  desperate  white  men 
and  mongrels,  who  form  banditti  in  the  most  difficult 
passes,  and  at  all  times  are  ready  to  cut  off  some  lagging 
emigrant  in  the  rear  of  the  party,  or  some  adventurous  one 
who  may  proceed  a  few  miles  in  advance,  or  at  night  to 
make  a  descent  upon  the  sleeping  camp  and  carry  away  or 
kill  horses  and  cattle.  This  is  the  case  even  now  in  the 
commencement  of  our  western  emigration,  and  when  it 
comes  to  be  more  generally  known  that  large  quantities  of 
valuable  property  and  considerable  sums  of  money  are 
yearly  carried  over  this  desolate  region,  it  is  to  be  feared 
an  organized  banditti  will  be  instituted.  The  posts  in 
contemplation  would  effectually  counteract  this;  for  that 
purpose  they  need  not,  nor  ought  not  to  be  military  estab- 
lishments. The  trading  posts  in  this  country  have  never 
been  of  such  a  character,  and  yet  with  a  very  few  men  in 
them  have  for  years  kept  the  surrounding  Indians  in  the  most 
pacific  disposition,  so  that  the  traveler  feels  secure  from 
molestation  upon  approaching   Fort   Laramie,   Bridger's 


202 


Appendix. 


Fort,  Fort  Hall,  etc.  The  same  can  be  obtained  without 
any  considerable  expenditure  by  the  Government,  while, 
by  investing  the  officers  in  charge  with  competent  au- 
thority, all  evil-disposed  white  men,  refugees  from  justice, 
or  discharged  vagabonds  from  the  trading  posts,  might  be 
easily  removed  from  among  the  Indians  and  sent  to  the 
appropriate  states  for  trial.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
system  of  rewards  among  the  savages  would  soon  enable 
the  posts  to  root  out  these  desperadoes.  A  direct  and 
friendly  intercourse  with  all  the  tribes,  even  to  the  Pacific, 
might  be  thus  maintained,  the  government  would  become 
more  intimately  acquainted  with  them,  and  they  with  the 
government ;  and,  instead  of  sending  to  the  state  courts 
a  manifestly  guilty  Indian  to  be  arraigned  before  a  distant 
tribunal,  and  acquitted  for  the  want  of  testimony  by  the 
technicalities  of  lawyers  and  of  laws  unknown  to  them,  and 
sent  back  into  the  wilderness  loaded  with  presents  as  an  in- 
ducement to  further  crime,  the  posts  should  be  enabled  to 
execute  summary  justice  as  if  the  criminal  had  been  already 
condemned  by  his  tribe,  because  the  tribe  will  be  sure  to 
deliver  up  none  but  the  party  whom  they  know  to  be 
guilty.  They  will  in  that  way  receive  the  trial  of  their 
peers  and  secure  within  themselves,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, if  not  technically  the  trial  by  jury,  yet  the  spirit  of 
that  trial.  There  are  many  powers  which  ought  to  reside 
in  some  person  on  this  extended  route  for  the  convenience 
and  even  necessity  of  the  public. 

In  this  the  immigrants  and  the  people  of  Oregon  are  no 
more  interested  than  the  resident  inhabitants  of  the  states. 
At  present  no  person  is  authorized  to  administer  an  oath  or 
legally  attest  a  fact  from  the  western  line  of  Missouri  to 


Appendix. 


203 


the  Pacific.  The  immigrant  cannot  dispose  of  his  property 
at  home,  although  an  opportunity  ever  so  advantageous  to 
him  should  occur,  after  he  passes  the  western  border  of 
Missouri.  No  one  can  here  make  legal  demand  and  pro- 
test of  a  promissory  note  or  bill  of  exchange.  No  one  can 
secure  the  valuable  testimony  of  a  mountaineer,  or  of  our 
emigrating  whites  after  he  has  entered  this  at  present  law- 
less country.  Causes  do  exist  and  will  continually  arise  in 
which  the  private  rights  of  citizens  are  and  will  be  seriously 
prejudiced  by  such  an  utter  absence  of  legal  authority.  A 
contraband  trade  from  Mexico,  the  introduction  from  that 
country  of  liquors  to  be  sold  among  the  Indians  west  of  the 
Kansas  River,  is  already  carried  on  with  the  mountain 
trappers,  and  very  soon  the  teas,  silks,  nankins,  spices, 
camphor  and  opium  of  the  East  Indies  will  find  their  way, 
duty  free,  through  Oregon,  across  the  mountains  and  into 
the  States,  unless  custom  house  officers  along  this  line  find 
an  interest  in  intercepting  them. 

Your  familiarity  with  the  government  policy,  duties  and 
interest,  renders  it  unnecessary  for  me  to  more  than  hint 
at  the  several  objects  intended  by  the  enclosed  bill,  and 
enlargement  upon  the  topics  here  suggested  as  inducements 
to  its  adoption  would  be  quite  superfluous,  if  not  imperti- 
nent. The  very  existence  of  such  a  system  as  the  one 
above  recommended,  suggests  the  utility  of  post-office  and 
mail  arrangements,  which  it  is  the  wish  of  all  who  now  live 
in  Oregon  to  have  granted  to  them,  and  I  need  only  add 
that  contracts  for  this  purpose  will  be  readily  taken  at  rea- 
sonable rates  for  transporting  the  mail  across  from  Missouri 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  in  forty  days,  with  fresh 
horses   at  each  of  the  contemplated  posts.     The  ruling 


204 


Appendix. 


policy  proposed  regards  the  Indians  as  the  police  of  the 
country,  who  are  to  be  relied  upon  to  keep  the  peace  not 
only  for  themselves,  but  to  expel  lawless  white  men  and 
prevent  banditti,  under  the  salutary  guidance  of  the  super- 
intendents of  the  several  posts,  aided  by  a  well-directed 
system  of  bounty,  to  induce  the  punishment  of  crime.  It 
will  be  only  after  a  failure  of  these  means  to  procure  the 
delivery  or  punishment  of  violent,  lawless  and  savage  acts 
of  aggression,  that  a  band  or  tribe  should  be  regarded  as 
conspirators  against  the  peace,  and  punished  accordingly 
by  force  of  arms. 

Hoping  that  these  suggestions  may  meet  your  approba- 
tion, and  conduce  to  the  future  interest  of  our  growing 
colony,  I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Honorable  Sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Marcus  Whitman. 


liilii 


WHITMAN'S  RIDE. 


BY  ALICE  WELLINGTON    ROLLINS. 


{After  "  Paul  Revere.") 


Listen,  my  children,  and  you  shall  hear 
Of  a  hero's  ride  that  saved  a  State. 
A  midnight  ride  ?  Nay,  child,  for  a  year 
He  rode  with  the  message  that  could  not  wait. 
Eighteen  hundred  and  forty-two ; 
No  railroad  then  had  gone  crashing  through 
.  o  the  Western  coast;  not  a  telegraph  wire 
Had  guided  there  the  electric  fire ; 
But  a  fire  burned  in  one  strong  man's  breast 
For  a  beacon-light.    You  shall  hear  the  rest. 


He  said  to  his  wife :  "  At  the  fort  to-day, 
At  Walla  Walla,  I  heard  them  say 
That  a  hundred  British  men  had  crossed 
The  mountains;  and  one  young,  ardent  priest 
Shouted,  « Hurrah  for  Oregon ! 
The  Yankees  are  late  by  a  year  at  least !' 
They  must  know  this  at  once  at  Washington. 
Another  year  and  all  would  be  lost. 
Some  one  must  ride,  to  give  the  alarm. 
Across  the  continent;  untold  harm 
In  an  hour's  delay;  and  only  I 
Can  make  them  understand  how  or  why 
The  United  States  must  keep  Oregon !" 

205 


ao6 


Appendix. 


Twenty-four  hours  he  stopped  to  think. 
To  thiiiK  ?  Nay,  then,  if  he  thought  at  all, 
He  thought  as  he  tightened  his  saddle-girth, 
One  tried  companion,  who  would  not  shrink 
From  the  worst  to  come;  just  a  mule  cr  two 
To  carry  arms  and  supplies,  would  do. 
With  a  guide  as  far  as  Fort  Bent.     And  she, 
The  woman  of  proud  heroic  worth, 
Who  must  part  from  him,  if  she  wept  at  all, 
Wept  as  she  gathered  whatever  he 
Might  need  for  the  outfit  on  his  way. 
Fame  for  the  man  who  rode  that  day 
Into  the  wilds  at  his  country's  call : 
And  for  her  who  waited  for  him  a  year 
On  that  wild  Pacific  coast,  a  tear  ! 


Then  he  said  •'  Goodbye  !"  and  with  firm-set  lips 

Silently  rode  from  his  cabin  door, 

Just  as  the  sun  rose  over  the  tips 

Of  the  phantom  mountains  that  loomed  before 

The  woman  there  in  the  cabin  door, 

With  a  dread  at  her  heart  she  had  not  known 

When  she,  with  him,  had  dared  to  cross 

The  Great  Divide.     None  better  than  she 

Knew  what  the  terrible  ride  would  cost 

As  he  rode,  and  she  waited,  each  alone. 

Whether  all  were  gained  or  all  were  lost, 

No  message  of  either  gain  or  loss 

Could  reach  her ;  never  a  greeting  stir 

Her  heart  with  sorrow  or  gladness ;  he 

In  another  year  would  come  back  to  her 

If  all  went  well ;  and  if  all  went  ill — 

Ah,  God !  could  even  her  courage  still 

The  pain  at  her  heart  >  If  the  blinding  snow 

Were  his  winding  sheet,  she  would  never  know ; 


Appendix. 

If  the  Indian  arrow  pierced  his  side, 

She  would  never  know  where  he  lay  and  died ; 

If  the  icy  mountain-torrents  drowned 

His  cry  for  help,  she  would  hear  no  sound ! 

Nay,  none  would  hear,  save  God,  who  knew 

What  she  had  to  bear,  and  she  had  to  do. 

The  clattering  hoof-beats  died  away 

On  the  Walla  Walla.     Ah !  had  she  known 

They  would  echo  in  history  still  to-day 

As  they  echoed  then  from  her  heart  of  stone  ! 


207 


He  has  left  the  valley.    The  mountains  mock 
His  coming.     Behind  him,  broad  and  deep. 
The  Columbia  meets  the  Pacific  tides. 
Before  him — four  thousand  miles  before — 
Four  thousand  miles  from  his  cabin  door, 
The  Potomac  meets  the  Atlantic.    On, 
Over  the  trail  grown  rough  and  steep. 
Now  soft  on  the  snow,  now  loud  on  the  rock, 
Is  heard  the  tramp  of  his  steed  as  he  rides. 
The  United  States  must  keep  Oregon. 


It  was  October  when  he  left 

The  Walla  Walla,  though  little  heed 

Paid  he  to  the  season.     Nay,  indeed, 

In  the  lonely  cafion  just  ahead. 

Little  mattered  it  what  the  almanacs  said. 

He  heard  the  coyotes  bark ;  but  they 

Are  harmless  creatures.     No  need  to  fear 

A  deadly  rattlesnake  coiled  too  near. 

No  rattlesnake  ever  was  so  bereft 

Of  sense  as  to  creep  out  such  a  day 

In  the  frost.     Nay,  scarce  would  a  grizzly  care 

For  a  sniff  at  him.     Only  a  man  would  dare 


2o8  Appendix, 

The  bitter  cold,  in  whose  heart  and  brain 
Burned  the  quenchless  flame  of  a  great  desire — 
A  man  with  nothing  himself  to  gain 
From  success,  but  whose  heart  blood  kept  its  fire. 
While  with  freezing  face  he  rode  on  and  on. 
The  United  States  must  keep  Oregon. 

It  was  November  when  they  came 

To  the  icy  stream.     Would  he  hesitate  ? 

Not  he,  the  man  who  carried  a  State 

At  his  saddle-bow.     They  have  made  the  leap  ; 

Horse  and  rider  have  plunged  below 

The  icy  current  that  could  not  tame 

Their  proud  life-current's  fiercer  flow. 

They  swim  for  it,  reach  it,  clutch  the  shore, 

Climb  the  river-bank  cold  and  steep, 

Mount,  and  ride  the  rest  of  that  day, 

Cased  in  an  armor  close  and  fine 

As  ever  an  ancient  warrior  wore  : 

Armor  of  ice  that  dared  to  shine 

Back  at  a  sunbeam's  dazzling  ray» 

Fearless  as  plated  steel  of  old 

Before  the  slender  lance  of  gold! 

It  is  December  as  they  ride  ' 
Slowly  across  the  Great  Divide ; 
The  blinding  storm  turns  day  to  night, 
And  clogs  their  feet;  the  snowflakes  roll 
Their  winding-sheet  about  them ;  sight 
Is  darkened ;  faint  the  despairing  soul. 
No  trail  before  or  behind  them.     Spur 
His  horse  ?  Nay,  child,  it  were  death  to  stir  I 
Motionless  horse  land  rider  stand. 
Turning  to  stone ;  till  one  poor  mule, 
Pricking  his  ears  as  if  to  say 
If  they  gave  him  rein  he  would  find  the  wa/1 


Appendix, 

Found  it,  and  led  them  back,  poor  fool. 
To  last  night's  camp  in  that  lonely  land. 


209 


It  was  January  when  he  rode 

Into  St.  Louis.    The  gaping  crowd 

Gathered  about  with  questions  loud 

And  eager.     He  raised  one  frozen  hand 

With  a  gesture  of  silent,  proud  command : 

"  I  am  here  to  ask,  not  answer !   Tell 

Me  quick.  Is  the  treaty  signed  ?"  «  Why,  yes  I 

In  August,  six  months  ago,  or  less  I" 

Six  months  ago !  Two  months  before 

The  gay  young  priest  at  the  fortress  showed 

The  English  hand  !  Two  months  before, 

Four  months  ago  at  his  cabin  door, 

He  had  saddled  his  horse !  Too  late,  then.    «  Well, 

But  Oregon  ?  Have  they  signed  the  State 

Away  ?"  «  Of  course  not.     Nobody  cares 

About  Oregon."     He  in  silence  bares 

His  head:  "  Thank  God !  I  am  not  too  late  I" 

It  was  March  when  he  rode  at  last 

Into  the  streets  of  Washington. 

The  warning  questions  came  thick  and  fast : 

«  Do  you  know  that  the  British  will  colonize. 

If  you  wait  another  year,  Oregon 

And  the  Northwest,  thirty-six  times  the  size 

Of  Massachusetts !"  A  courteous  stare. 

And  the  Government  murmurs :  "Ah!  indeed  I 

Pray,  why  do  you  think  that  we  should  care  ? 

With  Indian  arrows  and  mountain  snow 

Between  us,  we  never  can  colonize 

The  wild  Northwest  from  the  East,  you  know. 

If  you  doubt  it,  why,  we  will  let  you  read 

The  London  Examiner  ;  proofs  enough. 

The  Northwest  is  worth  just  a  pinch  of  snuff  I" 


■ 


aio  Appendix. 

And  the  Board  of  Missions  that  sent  him  out 
(iazed  at  the  worn  and  weary  man 
With  stern  displeasure :  ««  I'ray,  sir,  who 
Gave  you  orders  to  undertake 
This  journey  hither,  or  to  incur. 
Without  due  cause,  such  great  expense 
To  the  Board  ?  Do  you  suppose  we  can 
Overlook  so  grave  an  offense  ? 
And  the  Indian  converts  ?   What  about 
The  little  flock  for  whose  precious  sake 
We  sent  you  west  ?   Can  it  be  that  you 
Left  them  without  a  shepherd  ?   Most 
Extraordinary  conduct,  sir. 
Thus  to  desert  your  chosen  post !" 


Ah,  well !  What  mattered  it  ?   He  had  dared 
A  hundred  deaths  in  his  eager  pride 
To  bring  to  his  country  at  Washington 
A  message  for  which,  then,  no  one  cared! 
But  Whitman  could  act,  as  well  as  ride ; 
The  United  States  must  keep  the  Northwest. 
He — whatever  might  say  the  rest — 
Cared,  and  would  colonize  Oregon  1 


It  was  October,  forty-two, 

When  the  clattering  hoof-beats  died  away 

On  the  Walla  Walla,  that  fateful  day. 

It  was  September,  forty-three — 

Little  less  than  a  year,  you  see — 

When  the  woman  who  waited,  thought  she  heard 

The  clatter  of  hoof-beats  that  she  knew 

On  the  Walla  Walla  again.     "  What  word 

From  Whitman  ?"    Whitman  liimself !   And  see  ! 

What  do  her  glad  eyes  look  upon  ? 


Appendix. 


211 


The  first  of  two  hundred  wagons  rolls 

Into  the  valley  before  her.     1  le 

Who,  a  year  ago,  had  left  her  side, 

Had  brought  them  over  the  Great  Divide — 

Men,  women  and  children,  a  thousand  souls — 

The  Army  to  occupy  Oregon. 

You  know  the  rest.     In  the  books  you  have  read 

That  the  British  were  not  a  year  ahead. 

The  United  States  have  kept  Oregon 

Because  of  one  Marcus  Whitman.     He 

Rode  eight  thousand  miles,  and  was  not  too  late ! 

In  his  single  hand,  not  a  Nation's  fate 

Perhaps;  but  a  gift  for  the  Nation  she 

Would  hardly  part  with  to-day,  if  we 

May  believe  what  the  papers  say  upon 

This  great  Northwest  that  was  Oregon. 


And  Whitman  !   Ah  !  my  children,  he 
And  his  wife  sleep  now  in  a  martyr's  grave  ! 
Murdered  !    Murdered  both  he  and  she, 
By  the  Indian  souls  they  went  West  to  save ! 
—From  Representative  Poems ^  Cassell  6-  Co.,  New  York. 


